


Cobalt Blue

by Averys_got_a_pen



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: (fairly) graphic depictions of wounds, (im not), (not necessarily a disorder but I'm tagging it for safety), Author Is Sleep Deprived, Beau getting arrested :(, Betrayal, Blink and you'll miss it, Character Death, Dehydration, Eating Disorders, Exhaustion, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, Minor Fjord/Jester Lavorre, Small amount of Caleb-level angst, Starvation, The Cerberus Assembly, The Cobalt Soul, To Be Edited, Torture, Warning: Trent Ikithon, Whump, Yasha trying to pretend she's not in love with Beau, and then, anywayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy, because i rolled for all of this, but briefly - Freeform, chillin' in a bathtub five feet apart, coz theyre real gay, eating problems, enjoy, i spent five hours playing dnd to myself essentially, im back on my bullshit, im rambling in the tags, it just kind of decided to not do that so, like super duper background, rated mature just to be careful, sorry - Freeform, this was meant to be a one shot bout caleb and beau going undercover, tw: torture, two gals
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-26
Updated: 2019-06-27
Packaged: 2019-12-06 21:51:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 13
Words: 32,906
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18225875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Averys_got_a_pen/pseuds/Averys_got_a_pen
Summary: An unfortunate encounter with a Cerberus Assembly wizard leaves Dairon an enemy of the state. Unfortunately, that means they want to arrest her accomplices too - meaning one Beauregard Lionette. She's arrested, along with Caleb, and the Mighty Nein must rush to save them as the guards press them for information.





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Heyo this is just a wee little fic of Beau getting fuckin' arrested (coz I'm a mean author). Lots of physical and emotional torture. Um anyway, I'm not very good at writing summaries. I hope y'all enjoy :)

Splitting the party is never a good idea. 

"Right," Fjord said over breakfast. "So we've gotta do... uh, what exactly before we bounce? We gotta visit Lady-whatshername, we've got to drop by the magic shop to pick up Nott's new gloves. That it? M'I missing anythin'?" 

Caleb looked up from the table. "Eh, I would like to visit the bookstore again before we leave, if it's no trouble." Caleb said. "Now that I have some money." 

"Well, how 'bout we split up, get it all done quicker?" Fjord suggested. "I'll go with Jester and Yasha to visit Lady-" 

" - Lady Kairon." Jester cut in. 

"Sure." 

"I'll go with Nott to pick up her gloves," Caduceus said with a dopey smile. "I wanted to have another look around the shop anyway." 

"Perfect," Jester said. "And then Beau can go with Caleb to the book store!" 

"Ughhhhhh." Beau said, leaning back in her chair. "I would literally rather gauge out my eyeballs with a spork." 

"What's that?" Fjord asked absently. 

"It's this weird thing that fancy people use," Beau explained. "It's like a spoon, but with like the pointy bits of a fork at the end." 

"I can go on my own." Caleb spoke up, glancing briefly at Beauregard. 

"No, you can't." Nott's shrill voice cut in. "What if there are guards? What if there are bandits? What if you find a really cool book that you don't have the gold for-" 

"I'm not fuckin' giving him my money." Beau said, raising an eyebrow at the goblin. 

"I'll admit," Fjord said loudly. "I'd feel a lot better knowing that at least you're not entirely alone. You have a tendency to be, ah, squishy, Caleb."

"Fine." Beau said. "But there best be cool comics with naked ladies in them." 

Caleb just frowned. 

It wasn't long before the seven of them had split to go their own ways. 

"Alright, Caleb." Beau sighed eventually, getting up. The two of them were the last to leave. "Lead the way." as Caleb got up, Beau looked him over. "Hey, before we head out, wanna fix yourself up a bit?" 

"Pardon?" Caleb blinked.

"Well this a posh place and you - frankly - look like a fuckin' hobbo. You've been getting strange looks since we got here, but I didn't wanna make you self conscious." 

"I'm sure it will be fine." Caleb said taughtly. "We are just going to a bookstore, ja? What could go wrong?" 

Beau punched him in the arm and he flinched. "Why the fuck would you jinx us like that?"

*** 

"Excuse me?" a guard called to the two of them. They'd been walking barely five minutes. Both humans considered continuing and ignoring the guard, instantly thinking better of it when they saw that he was flanked by two others. Reluctantly, the two of them stopped and waited for the guards to approach. 

"Can I ask your names?" 

"I am James," Caleb said quickly, offering a friendly smile. 

"My name's Morgan." Beau said bluntly. 

"Right," the guard said, eyeing the two of them suspiciously. "You're not from around here?" 

"Eh, no," Caleb said with a false smile. "We are from, um, the Menagerie Coast." 

"Where abouts?" 

"Port Damali." Caleb replied, at the exact same time Beau said, "Nicodranas." 

"We're originally from Nicodranas." Caleb rectified. "But we currently live in Port Damali." 

"Uh huh." the guard eyed them suspiciously. "And what exactly might you be doing out here in Slaughscia?" 

"Vacation," Beau said, wrapping an arm around Caleb's waist. "Our first proper one, right sweetie?" 

Caleb really hoped the guards didn't notice the way she grimaced when she said that. "Yes, we haven't been on a proper vacation in... ever, I think." he gave a good-hearted laugh that sounded false even to his own ears. "It is hard to find time for yourself, you know?" 

"Hm." the guard said. "I do know. Listen, we have just a few more questions - procedure for newcomers, I'm sure you understand - to ask, if you'd come back to the Azmarin with us?" 

It wasn't a request, not really. It was a command, a threat. Caleb looked at Beau, trying to convey silently that if they did not co-operate, they'd have the city's formidable force after them. 

"Of course." Beau replied with a smile that looked more like a grimace. "It won't take too long though, will it? We've got a busy day planned. We're going to see -" 

"No more than an hour, ma'am." the guard said, beginning to lead them along the streets. The two other guards stayed ahead with him, leading them. Caleb spent the walk thinking of a way out of their current predicament. He doubted that the guards just wanted to ask him more questions as a vaccationer, but he didn't want to risk getting into trouble with local law-enforcement. Meanwhile, Beau glanced around and saw out of the corner of her eye, four shadowy figures tailing them. She drew closer to Caleb, nuzzling her face into his collarbone. 

"We're being tailed," she said. "Four. On the buildings." 

Caleb shivered at the uncomfortable closeness. He wasn't particularly fond of contact unless he initiated it, but this was more about their safety. "Ja, I don't think they believe our story too much." 

"We wanna bail?" 

Caleb considered it for a moment. They were still a five minute walk from the Azmarin. When they got there... they'd have no chance of escape. The place was a fortress. Finally, he nodded almost imperceptibly. 

"Let us just try to slip away unnoticed, ja?" 

Beau nodded, tensing her muscles. Caleb knew that she could run much, much faster than he could. Obviously, she was waiting for him to move first, because she could pace with him easily. He waited for a good opportunity, an alleyway to the right of the main street; it would provide shadow to hide from the figures above and led into the mazelike back-alleys of Slaughscia. 

Before he moved, the guards all turned to look at them. Caleb couldn't move fast enough as the lead guy drew a longsword, and the other two drew crossbows. "Don't move!" he shouted. "We've got you surrounded, hands where we can see them!" There was the unmistakable sound of arrows being notched in bows behind and above them. 

Caleb grimaced, raising his hands. They were too spread out for him to attack. Beau also held her hands in the air, though her fingers were curled into loose fists. 

"Beauregard Lionette," the lead guard said, stepping forward. Beau let out a choke-sound of shock at the name, and Caleb felt a rush of panic through him. "You are under arrest for conspiracy to overthrow the Empire. You and your co-conspirers are considered traitors of the Empire." 

"W-what?" Beau said, looking genuinely shocked. "I'm not - I haven't -" 

The first guard stepped toward her with a set of manacles. "Don't try anything." he warned her. "We've got six pairs of eyes on you."

As soon as he reached for her, she was moving. She drove two quick punches at the man, knocking him back, turning in time to grab a crossbow bolt out of the air and lobbing it through the air. She dodged and weaved between all four of the arrows that loosed at her, and then the second crossbow bolt came. It hit her in the stomach, but she managed to stop it from causing a fatal injury. She snarled a laugh, looking up at the archer, before there was a metallic click and the bolt exploded into a metal net, wrapping itself instantly around her, almost like a spider building a web, and restraining her. 

Caleb felt panic rising in him and began casting a Fireball. However, he was only halfway through the incantation when the first guard punched him hard in the face, making him lose his concentration. He staggered back, and the man advanced on him, shouting, "Caster!" as he did so. Then, he was wrestling a gag around Caleb's face and binding his arms tightly in rope. 

In seconds, Caleb was incapacitated and unable to cast. Beau was still scrambling at the net when the guard came over, wiping a line of blood from under his nose. 

"Traitor scum." he said, and started kicking her. The other two guards on the ground joined in and the three of them didn't stop until Beau stopped struggling. Caleb could do nothing but watch in horror as she slumped, bloodied on the ground. Then, the guards grabbed the two of them and started hauling them towards the Azmarin. 

His hands restrained, Caleb couldn't cast, couldn't beg for help. He was devoid of any hope as the two of them were dragged away to an unknown fate.


	2. Chapter Two

"They are really late, though, you guys!" Jester said, her tail swishing behind her nervously as they all waited at their agreed meeting place for Caleb and Beau. It had been about half an hour since sundown - when they'd agreed to meet - and there was no way Caleb would've lost track of time. 

"I'm sure they're fine," Fjord said smoothly. "Caleb probably just got his nose stuck in a book or somethin'." 

"Caleb never forgets the time!" Nott put in, seeming angry. "Caleb never forgets everything, his memory is perfect, he-" 

"Hey, Miss Jester?" Caduceus cut in, looking stoned as always. "Do you have your ability to send a message?" 

Jester bit her lip. "I used a couple of spells earlier, I can only send one message. Who should I send it to?" 

"Caleb is more observant." Nott said confidently. 

"What if he's, uh... not present?" Fjord said. "What if he had some kinda episode or somethin' and Beau's trynna calm him down?" 

"Beauregard is a safer bet, I think." Yasha put in. 

"Fine." Nott said, tapping her foot. "But just make sure you find out if Caleb's alright!" 

"Ok, ok, ok." Jester took a deep breath, thinking over her words in her head before casting the spell. "Um, so hey Beau." 

Fjord shook his head and facepalmed. 

"You're late to the meet and we just wanted to make sure that you and Caleb didn't get into any trouble-" 

The spell fizzled, sending away to Beau. There were a few moments of anxious silence that stretched. "She's not replying you guys!" Jester said after a couple of minutes, her eyes tearing up. "What if she's hurt, or dead, or she can't hear me or-"

"Hey, hey, hey, it's ok." Fjord said soothingly. "Calm down. It's going to be ok. We'll find them and they are going to be alright." 

"Do you promise?" 

Caduceus gave Fjord a warning look over his shoulder. If he broke a promise to Jester, it would break her heart too, he knew. "I promise you we'll find them." 

*** 

Beau came to feeling like shit. 

She was sure there wasn't a square inch of her body that wasn't bruised. Blood glued her clothes to her skin and her head was pounding under the lantern light. She was in a small room, she realised - a cell. It smelt of coppery blood and piss. It was barely five feet by five feet, made of concrete, with a single locked door. 

"Hey, assholes!" Beau pounded on the door. "Hey, open up this fucking door or I swear to God-" 

"Shouting will not help you." 

"... Dairon?" Beau asked in shock, recognising the voice. She looked around out of the small window leading out of her cell, but couldn't see the older woman. "What's going on?" 

"I fear I have made a mistake that will cost both of us our lives." 

"What do you mean?" Beau said, feeling her heart sink. "Did you see them bring a scruffy redhead in with me? Do you know where they took him?" 

Dairon fell silent for a moment. "They took him for questioning." she said eventually. 

"Q- Questioning?" Beau asked, frowning a little. "You mean... you mean torture, right?" the only thing that answered her was silence. "Fucking hell, Dairon. What the fuck did you do? Who did you piss off?" 

Dairon's voice lowered silently. "A powerful mage of the Cerberus Assembly." she said quietly, and Beau felt her stomach work itself into knots. "He was corrupt, but caught onto my trail before I managed to prove it. He built a case against me. They... they believe I am a traitor of the Empire." 

"And they think I worked with you." 

Dairon cleared her throat loudly. "Yes. I'm sorry, Beauregard." 

"What will they do to Caleb?" 

"Most likely try to find out if he was in on the plot," she said darkly. "In whatever way they can. If they conclude he wasn't a co-conspirator, they'll squeeze him for any information he has on either of us." 

"Fuck." Beau sat down on the floor, wincing a little as her cracked ribs shifted a little under her skin. "What are we gonna do?" she sounded more scared than she wanted to, a slight hitch in her voice betraying her. The cell was cold and dark, and for once she couldn't see a way out of this mess she was in. She was going to be hanged, she realised in a rush, for treason. After probably weeks of torture and questioning.

"I... I fear there is nothing we can do, Beauregard." Dairon said, so quietly Beau almost didn't hear her. 

"Fuck that." Beau said, feeling anger well up in her like a blister. "You have put me and my friend in fucking mortal danger because you were reckless, and you want me to just sit here while they torture him?" she snarled. 

"You knew the dangers when you signed up for my training!" Dairon said back, her voice firm but not shouting. "I told you not to get too close to these people. You have compromised yourself emotionally and it is not because of me that your friend is enduring this. If you had stayed away from them, he wouldn't have been in any danger from this. That is the reason I work alone; to minimise fallout." 

"Well that didn't fucking work, did it?" Beau kicked the door angrily, ignoring the bolt of pain it sent up her leg. "I'm here with you, fucker!" 

Before Dairon could reply, there was the sound of a door opening and closing, then marching feet coming to Beau's cell. She felt her heart leap into her throat but got into a position to defend herself. There was a moment of absolute silence, then the door was thrown open and four guards rushed into the room. Clearly, they knew what to expect with her; they all wore heavy armour and wielded batons. She tried to fight them off, but she was already pretty weak, so it didn't take much for them to be able to grab her arms and restrain her. 

"Fuck off me, assholes!" she screamed, kicking out at them. She landed a single kick before they restrained her legs, now holding her wriggling and struggling body aloft. 

They took her out into the corridor, manoeuvring her around the doorway. As she passed, she got a glimpse of Dairon in one of the cells a little further down the hall. Her face was bloodied and bruised, one of her eyes swollen shut. She stood at the door and watched as they dragged Beau away, kicking and screaming, her face betraying a hint of concern and regret. 

Beau was taken out of that corridor and into a big, open foyer. She watched in surprise as another couple of guards came from the other direction, Caleb walking unaided between them. He seemed unhurt, though when he saw Beau, he immediately looked away. 

"Caleb, are you ok?" she said immediately, ceasing her struggling briefly to look him over. "What did they do to you?" 

"I am sorry, Beauregard." he said, looking up to meet her gaze ever so briefly before looking away. The guards gave him a little push toward a big set of double doors and Beau finally registered the emotion he was expressing; guilt. 

"Caleb?" she shouted over her shoulder. The doors opened, leading to a subdued evening street. The guards marched him out. "Caleb? What the fuck did you do?!"

The four guards began moving her towards a set of stairs leading downwards. She started scrambling madly again, clawing and kicking and struggling as much as she could, only half looking over her shoulder as Caleb disappeared into the street. 

When the doors closed behind him, Beau was left terrifyingly alone. 


	3. Chapter Three

When they came across Caleb, wandering the streets of Slaughscia aimlessly, they were first relieved, and then concerned. Beau wasn't with him. And he looked so very, very lost. 

"Caleb?" Jester said as they approached. Caleb didn't look up. 

_Caleb, are you ok? What did they do to you?_

He had seen Beau's eyes scanning his body for wounds, for blood, for anything. He was unharmed. Still, she was concerned more for him than herself. He couldn't wipe the image from his mind; Beau spread-eagled between four guards, her sashes and pants torn and covered in blood. Her face swollen and bruised, her hair having come loose from its bun and being matted down with blood. The look of fear in her eyes, fear for him, fear for what they might have done to him. And concern; she was so worried. Even considered a traitor from the Empire and beaten within an inch of her life, Beau was more worried for him than herself. 

Traitor. Traitor.  _Traitor_. 

Caleb had thrown her under the wagon. When they'd asked him about her doings, he'd broken down and lied and told them that she had threatened his family and coerced him into helping take down the Empire. He'd like to believe he'd sold her down the river so that he could get help in breaking her out. But in reality, he had seen the familiar uniform of the Cerberus Assembly. He'd seen the colours on the robes of the guards. He knew what would happen if they took him. 

If they believed Caleb was a traitor as they did Beau, he would be taken to the Assembly for questioning. He... he couldn't do that. He couldn't face Ikithon. He couldn't allow the man to get his hands on Caleb - not again. So as much as it pained him, he'd spun a lie about Beau's emotional manipulation. He seemed small and weak, and they'd never actually seen him cast, so they believed that she'd managed to strongarm him into aiding. After four more hours of relentless questioning, they'd eventually let him go. His lies were so deep that they actually apologised to him for the harm Beau had put on his family. 

They had apologised to him, just before leading her out, bloodied and broken. 

Still, there was that fire. The fire behind Beau's eyes hadn't been extinguished. Not just yet. Not before the Assembly. 

He knew what Ikithon did for his devotion to the Empire. He would tear Beauregard apart piece by piece, subject her to unimaginable tortures. Beau was strong... it would take them a few weeks to break her, he thought miserable.

"Caleb, where is she?" 

He snapped his eyes up to meet Fjord's concerned.  _Traitor, traitor, traitor._

"W-what?" he said. His voice was no more than a broken croak. He realised dimly that they were back in their room at the inn; the Nein were all gathered around him, sitting on one of the beds. When had they gotten back to the Inn? He didn't remember the journey. He didn't remember walking up the stairs. 

He only remembered the look in Beau's eyes when she realised what he'd done. 

Caduceus pressed a cup of tea into his hands, sitting beside him and rubbing his back soothingly. Caleb stiffened at the contact, remembering the guard's hands pushing him forward. Remembering hands on him before that...

"What happened?" Yasha demanded, standing by the doorway. If the look on her face had anything to say about it, she'd bring down a thunderstorm on whoever took Beau. Caleb swallowed the lump in his throat, realising she'd cut him in two if she realised how he'd betrayed her and thrown her to the wolves. 

"We were taken." he said slowly, his voice beginning to find its way back to his throat. Nott sat on his other side, hesitantly putting a hand on his knee. 

"Where?" Jester said, her tail swishing anxiously behind her. Caleb could see that she was on the verge of tears. "By who?" 

"The, uh... the guards." he said, trying to forget what had happened already. "They said something about Dairon betraying... betraying the Cerberus Assembly. They believe that Beau was in on it." 

"How did you get away?" Fjord asked. 

"I, uh..." Caleb wiped his sweaty palms on his pants. "I..." 

"Hey, it's ok Caleb." Jester knelt down in front of him. 

"You feel guilty?" Caduceus prompted, reading Caleb like a book. That goddamn Firbolg had to put his nose where it didn't belong, Caleb thought bitterly. 

"I, eh, Beau managed to break free and started taking them all on. She told me to run..." 

"And you did?" Yasha said, a frown falling on her face. 

"I had no choice." Caleb said, trying to convince himself to believe the lie. "I had to find a way back to you all so that you could help Beauregard." 

"So that  _you_  could help Beauregard?" Fjord quoted. "Don't you mean,  _we_?" 

Caleb swallowed, wanting nothing more than to fall out of his skin and fade out of existence. "I can't... I can't... the Cerberus Assembly. If they find me. If they realise I am a friend of Beauregard's... you have to understand, they can't get their hands on me again. With my Arcane abilities, they'd-" 

"You are going to help us help Beauregard." Yasha said firmly. Her usually impassive face had transformed into something that was a mix of rage and concern. "Before she is executed for treason." 

"I..." Caleb's voice got lost in his throat as Yasha loomed over him. "I can't..." 

"Mister Caleb," Caduceus said soothingly. "We will not force you to do anything you don't want to. But know that we would greatly benefit from your assistance and we would do our considerable best to prevent anyone from harming or capturing you." 

Caleb felt a knot build in his stomach. "Ja." he said finally, tediously. "I will help." 

 _It's the least I can do_ , he thought.

***

Beau wasn't sure what time of day it was. They'd put a thick hood on her so that she couldn't see. Her hands and feet were bound so tightly that the rope cut into her skin. She had been left alone in a cold room for what felt like hours - but it was hard to say for sure - when the sound of the door opening finally greeted her ears. 

"Good morning, Beauregard." the voice said. Beau clenched her jaw and didn't reply. 

"Now, as you well know," the interrogator said, seeming unfazed by her unresponsiveness. "I am going to hurt you until you talk. I'm sure you know the drill. I'm sure your  _mentor_ trained you well enough. Answer my questions and you'll be executed painlessly. Fail to do so and I will beat it out of you. Understand?" 

"Go to hell." Beau snarled, trying to sound brave despite the terror washing through her. 

She could almost hear the smile on the man's voice. "I was hoping you'd say that, you know..." 

And then, a fist landed right in her stomach. Beau couldn't try to move, confined to the chair, so she took the blow in its full force, letting out a sharp exhale as it winded her. She hung her head, trying to catch her breath. 

"Where did you first meet Ex-Expositor Dairon?" the man snarled. 

"Fuck off." Beau replied, breathing through her nose and awaiting the next blow. It wasn't a punch this time - a bucket full of cold water fell over her already shivering body, drenching her clothes and hair. Beau fought the way her teeth tried to chatter. 

"How long have you known Dairon?" 

Beau didn't reply, not trusting her voice not to waver. 

"Alright then." the man said. There was a tedious moment of pause, and then she felt a sharp blade drive its way into her kneecap. She gritted her teeth to keep from screaming, letting out a feral snarl when the man twisted it slightly. She felt it separate the joint, felt the way blood immediately began to soak her pants. She breathed heavily through her nose, trying not to let hopelessness overwhelm her. 

"Oh, Miss Lionette." the man's voice was disgustingly close to Beau. "We've just got started. I'm so very looking forward to working with you." 


	4. Chapter Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im not very good at summaries, and there's a bit of a time-hop here bc i came back to this fic after like three days and took a whole new turn with it. 
> 
> Anyway, this chapter contains a lot of violence and physical/emotional abuse. The guards who think Beau's a bad guy are actually real bad guys. Let me just tell you; Beau is real unhappy with her current situation.

They'd been on the road for at least a week, of that much Beau was sure. 

After 'interrogating' her for... well, fuck knows how long, they had abruptly bundled Beau into the back of a wagon and departed from the city. Beau felt a rise of panic with each mile they progressed, knowing she was getting further and further from the Nein. 

 _They're not coming for you_ , she thought to herself.  _Even Caleb sold you down the river._

A particularly deep pothole in the road jostled Beau and she flinched from the wounds she'd sustained. She was sure she had at least two broken ribs, the others cracked or bruised. Her arms and legs were covered in a marring of small cuts and bruises. Her shoes had been taken long ago, leaving her bare feet cold and bloodied. Speaking of cold... Beau wasn't sure she'd ever be warm again. It was winter in Slaughscia, and outside of the cart it rained heavily. They'd taken her coat from her, stripped her down to just her cropped top and undershorts. Then, they'd drenched her in water again. It was clear that this was another form of torture; the cold invaded Beau deep into her bones, making her delirious. She longed for any kind of cover from the cold but had been offered no such reprieve. 

She'd been fed the bare minimum to sustain her liveliness. She was given half a bottle of water a day, and her lips were cracked and dry. Every now and then, the guard in the back of the cart with Beau would ask her questions, clearly trying to catch her off-guard. Beau would be worried about slipping up if there was anything to slip up on - there was no traitorous plot to overthrow the empire, so she couldn't answer their questions. She'd tried making up some false story about a plot before but they'd seen through the lie.

"I need a piss." Beau said, her voice raw. The guard glanced up from the book he was reading to stare at her. 

"Go on then." he said, a challenging smirk at the edges of his lips. 

"I'm-" Beau snarled, baring her teeth a little. They had been stopping once a day to set up camp for the night, and it was then that Beau had the briefest bit of privacy."Just get the guy up front to pull over so I can have a piss, will you?" 

The guy shrugged. "Sounds like a ruse to try to get away to me. If you need to pee, you're more than welcome to." 

Beau growled a little in her throat. "I'm not gonna piss myself for your pleasure, you sadistic motherfucker." 

He reached behind him and grabbed one of the empty waterbottles that she'd been drinking out of. He tossed it to her feet. "There ya go, princess." 

Beau kicked it back at him, not getting to much power behind the punt with her ankles bound together. Then, she closed her eyes and tipped her head back against the cart, trying to find some sort of zen that would separate her from the urgency building in her lower belly. She was just in some sort of not-as-uncomfortable state when she felt a bottle of water thrown at her, the water sinking instantly against her skin and testing her bladder's steel. 

"Asshole." she growled through her teeth, her eyes blinking open. 

"Sorry, my hand slipped." he smirked. Beau desperately wanted to fly at the man and deliver him a flurry of punches and kicks and wipe that fucking smug smirk off his face. However, even if her hands weren't literally tied, she had to admit to herself that she was in condition to win a brawl. The wound deep in her kneecap had mostly stopped bleeding now, and she feared that if she put any weight on her leg, it would start gushing again. 

So she settled for just scowling at him. 

"Now, you're no fun, are you princess?" his lips curled in a way that made Beau's stomach knot fearfully. "Thought you needed to piss, love?" 

"Fuck off." Beau said, but her voice was significantly weaker. Here she was, in the middle of fuck-knows-where, with nobody coming to her rescue, and at the mercy of four men who'd already proved themselves plenty sadistic. 

Beau stared down the man as the minutes ticked by. Her stomach was starting to hurt now with the strain on her bladder. She was determined not to give in, though, and she could hold it for as long as need be - at least that's what she was going to tell herself. 

Finally, after what felt like centuries, but could've only been an hour or so, the cart slowed to a stop for the evening. The guy in the back with her spit at her, the phlegm landing on her shoulder. Then, he got up and left. A moment later, one of the other guards appeared; the stocky Dwarven woman. She grabbed Beau by the rope binding her wrists and dragged her painfully out the back of the cart. 

As she started pulling Beau over to a nearby bit of shrubbery, she noticed the other three guards setting up camp just into the treeline. When she had decided it was a good place - like there was any great place for it - the guard stopped Beau in her tracks and took a couple of steps back.

"Whenever you're ready." she said, raising an eyebrow. 

Beau struggled to stay on her feet, her knee flaring in agony. She tried to ignore the humiliation burning at her as she struggled with her undergarments. 

"Need a hand?" the guard asked with the barest hint of a smirk. 

"I'm fine." Beau snapped. The guard just shrugged and waited impatiently. 

It took some time and manoeuvring, but Beau finally managed to pee in something akin to privacy. When she was done, the guard barely gave her time to pull up her shorts before grabbing her again by the rope and dragging her towards the camp. The other three were already settled down with food and drink for the evening. Each had a warm bedroll to sleep in, thick furs to keep them warm. More than ever, Beau was feeling the cold. 

"Oi, bring 'er over to the fire." one of the guards said to another. "She's no use to Master Ikithon dead." 

Beau felt her blood run cold when she heard the name. She was shoved closer to the fire, and was too cold to refuse. She settled down in what was the most comfortable position for her broken and bruised body, trying not to let herself feel too relieved when the warmth provided a small comfort to her. She refused to look at the stew they were cooking, but her grumbling stomach betrayed her. The Dwarven woman looked over at her, a mischievous glint in her eye.

"Hungry?"

Beau didn't reply, laying down and ignoring the agony it sent flaring up her back and ribs. She stared up at the night sky, at the stars, took a deep breath and pretended that Yasha was beside her. She would give anything to lay with Yasha and see the stars right now. She felt tears welling up in her eyes as those thoughts plagued her. Gods, what she wouldn't give for Yasha to be here, or Jester, or Fjord, or even fucking Caleb, who'd betrayed her for his own freedom. She wished any of them were here with her. She hadn't felt this lonely since her parents shipped her off to the Cobalt Soul. 

"Oi!" the woman said again. 

"Maybe she's got brain damage, Marie." one of the other guards said. 

The Dwarven woman - Marie, presumably - appeared in the peripheral of Beau's vision with a bowl of stew. "I said, are you hungry?" she said again.

Beau didn't trust herself to reply. Her lips were dry and her throat was sore. She was weak and tired and the food smelt  _so damn good_.

Ever since they'd gotten on the road, the four of them had taken a lot of joy in making Beau beyond miserable. It seemed like a personal vendetta... but then, they thought Beau was a traitor. People could get very patriotic. 

"Give me a hand." Marie said to one of the other guards. Beau felt panic rise in her and desperately tried to scramble away, but it didn't take long for them to pin her down. One grabbed her torso and pinned her to the ground, while the other held down her kicking legs. "I heard your stomach," Marie said, leering over Beau. "I know you're hungry." 

She flicked the bowl slightly with one swift motion and two drops of it fled the bowl and landed on Beau's bare skin. Fuck - that was hot. It was really fucking hot, like molten lava. "I'm good, thanks." she managed. 

"It won't do for you to waste away on us." Marie said with something of satisfaction on her face. She nodded to the last guard - the one who'd been in the cart with her earlier - and he came over and grabbed Beau's head, holding her in place. Beau didn't even have the strength in her for a proper struggle as he pried her mouth open, holding it wide with grubby and dirty fingers. Then, Marie started pouring the stew into Beau's mouth. 

Immediately, Beau's instinct was to spit up the liquid before it burnt the whole of inside of her mouth. However, in the position she was in, she wasn't able to do that - not even a little. Marie carried on pouring the stew into her mouth and Beau's tongue screamed. She couldn't breathe, her mouth was full of molten rock that was rapidly carving agony into her mouth. She had no choice but to swallow it, being able to do no more than grimace when it left searing burns in her throat on the way down. Marie didn't stop pouring until Beau started coughing and retching. The four of them got up off her, allowing her to retch and throw up the stew onto the ground. Beau wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, shaking all over. 

 _Get it together, Beauregard_ , a tiny voice in the back of her head that sounded an awful lot like her father's, said.  _You're better than this. Retching on the floor like a pathetic boozer. You're a disgrace to the Lionette name._

Beau curled up into a small ball, trying to ignore the tears that were threatening to spill out of her eyes. The four guards went back to eating around the campfire cheerily and laughing and telling stories. Beau shivered and curled tighter on herself, hiding the tears that began falling down her face. 

"Where are you guys?" her voice sounded broken even to herself. She didn't know who she was talking to. 

Nobody was coming to rescue Beauregard Lionette.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> in case any of you were wondering, there will be an explanation in the future as to why the M9 didn't get to Beau earlier. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope y'all enjoyed, stay kind to one another, and I hope y'all have a lovely day :-) <3


	5. Chapter Five

Beau was awoken at some point in that night by someone shouting. 

As she pried her eyes open, she became aware immediately of a battle raging around her. A flash of orange streaked by, and a sparkling teal lollipop hung over the battlefield, and Beau felt her heart leap into her throat as she recognised the shouts coming from the attacking party. 

The Mighty Nein. They'd come for her. 

Marie ran over to her, grabbing her and dragging her as quickly as she could toward the cart. Beau wanted to struggle - her muscles burned with the need to get away - but now that rescue was within her grasp she felt too weak to even think about it. She tried to shout to them, but her voice wasn't working and her throat burned. Right... the stew. She couldn't do anything in her defence as Marie bundled her into the back of the cart. 

The cart started moving as the other three guards kept the Nein busy. Had they even notice them sneaking away?

Beau curled up into a little ball as the cart started moving. Each bump in the road jolted her spine agonisingly. Her knee was bleeding again, she realised. Worse than before, soaking her pants. Her throat burned angrily and she thought that if there was anything in her stomach, she would've thrown up again. She forced herself to stay conscious as the cart started picking up speed, and crawled towards the back of the cart. 

Ignoring the agony flaring through her broken ribs, she climbed up and out of the cart, immediately falling and hitting the dirt hard. She was free, but not conscious enough to even realise it. 

***

Yasha was starting to panic. 

They had killed all three of the guards and torn apart the camp, but still found no sign of Beauregard. She was starting to think they'd gotten the wrong cart... or worse, Beau wasn't with them because she wasn't  _around_ any more. Yasha couldn't think about that. It made her throat ball up angrily and her heart flutter in a way she didn't like. 

"Here!" Nott finally called, kneeling by the road. "Cart tracks." 

Before she'd even processed the words, she was running off down the street in the direction of the cart tracks. She was running, running, running so much that the rage gave way to fear and that was before she even saw the slumped body on the horizon. She was aware of the rest of the Nein following some distance behind her; clearing up the camp and checking for more enemies. Yasha didn't care about more enemies - let them come. She'd tear apart anyone who stood between her and Beauregard. 

As she got within thirty feet of Beau, her heart dropped and she felt that cold anger returning. Beau was... not in a good way. 

Her hands and feet were tied with thick rope that had been secured too tightly. She'd definitely have some serious rope burns. Her clothes had been stripped away, revealing her shivering, unusually pale body, dotted with a collage of yellow, brown and blue. She'd lost weight, even in just the week and a half she'd been missing. Even from here, Yasha could see the way her ribs were bent unnaturally, and the rise and fall of her chest was staggered and uneven. Her right knee was covered in blood - God, it was a lot of blood - and her hair had been pulled out of her head in tufts, like she'd been dragged by it. 

"Oh, Gods." she muttered as she reached Beau's still body and skidded to a halt beside her, kneeling down and drawing Beau's head into her lap. On closer inspection, Yasha could see every little fucking thing they'd done to her, every bruise, every handprint, the way she automatically flinched when Yasha cradled her head. 

"Jester!" Yasha shouted desperately, her voice a little strangled. Even as she called for her friend, she poured her meagre healing magic into Beau. 

Beau's eyes slowly fluttered open, the usual bright spark replaced with fear and defeat. Gods, it made Yasha's heart ache to see Beau looking so weak and lost. 

"Y-Yash-" her voice was raw, pained and so goddamn quiet that Yasha almost missed it. 

"It's ok, Beau, you're safe." she said, trying to push down the feeling that was threatening to put tears in her eyes. "I've got you. Just stay still. Jester's on her way over." 

Beau looked like she wanted to say more, but couldn't. Her eyes welled up and, to Yasha's horror, she started crying. 

"Hey, hey, it's ok Beau." Yasha held her more protectively to her body, holding her like fragile glass. "They're all gone. They're dead, Beau, they can't hurt you anymore. I promise." 

Beau just nodded a little and closed her eyes. Yasha just watched her chest rise and fall like a hawk, ensuring that she continued breathing. Jester appeared a moment later, panting, and immediately dropped down to pour healing spells into Beau. Jester was crying too, as she healed her friend's broken body. Yasha tried not to flinch when Beau sobbed a gasp as her ribs clicked back into place, as her knee - which she now realised had been stabbed and dislocated - slowly began to pull together. Yasha felt a weak hand grasp her arm, and just held Beau tighter, placing a small kiss on her head. 

When Jester was all out of spells, Beau was more or less healed. But she still looked exhausted, dehydrated and weak. Yasha cut her free of her bindings (trying to ignore the way Beau squirmed when the blade got close), feeling anger bubbling in her at the harsh red burns on Beau's wrists. 

"We should get her somewhere there's rest and food." Caduceus said. Yasha hadn't heard the rest of the Nein approach, but now they were in a loose circle around Beau's still form. Given the way her breathing was, Yasha guessed that she'd passed back out. Which was probably for the best. 

Caleb stayed at the back of the group, his eyes staring off into the middle distance and his face filled with a swirl of guilt. 

Yasha scooped Beau up into her arms as carefully as she could. She said a quiet prayer to the Stormlord. 

Then, the Mighty Nein began escorting their monk back to safety.

*** 

They'd travelled for the better part of the day to get Beau to a relatively safe town. They considered stopping at the first village they came across, but Beau was still a wanted criminal, and they felt it was best to get further from the dead guards. They got three rooms, but all piled into one. Caleb wordlessly pulled off his coat and gave it to Yasha to wrap around Beau. Then, looking exhausted, he went to one of the other rooms; he'd barely slept since Beau had been missing. Nott retired not long after.

Fjord helped Yasha and Jester tuck Beau in, then went to search for more blankets. Caduceus made a cup of warm tea that he assured them would help Beau before leaving the three of them alone. 

Yasha saw Jester's eyes well up as she took in the unconscious form of her friend. "Hey, it's ok," she said softly. "Beauregard will be fine." 

"I know, I know," Jester said, putting her head in her hands and sobbing softly. "I just... I wish we could do more. She looks so small, Yasha!" 

Yasha couldn't help but agree. Beau had instinctively curled into a ball to try to keep warm, her head tucked into her hands and her face buried into the covers. She looked so small and quiet and just  _not Beau_.

"You should get some sleep." Yasha said finally. "I will keep an eye on her." 

"Are you sure, Yasha?" 

Yasha just nodded. "I... I think I'm going to go and stay in Fjord's room, ok?" 

"Of course." Yasha replied. 

"Wake me up when she wakes up or if she needs anything or if she's hurting or if you need me-" 

"I will." Yasha said soothingly. "Try to get some sleep, ok? The best way you can help Beau right now is by making sure you have your spells back in the morning." 

A small, tired nod. Jester got up, her tail swishing half-heartedly behind her. She pressed a kiss to the top of Yasha's head, then leaned over to kiss Beau on the cheek, squeezing her hand. A moment later, Yasha was left alone with her unconscious friend. She settled down, trying not to think about how close she'd come to losing Beauregard - just like she'd lost Zuala. She couldn't handle the thoughts and feelings invading her mind, all of the things that made her feel so very angry and  _sick_ at the thought of losing Beauregard. 

She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn't even notice when Beau awoke silently, her blue eyes staring at Yasha. She didn't say anything, but reached out and encircled their hands together. Yasha initially tensed before realising that it was Beau and turning her attention to her. 

"Beauregard," she said softly. Beau just looked at her. "How are you feeling?" 

Beau shrugged a little, raising her free hand to gesture to her throat. 

"You can't talk?" a small nod. "Is it a curse?" a shake of the head. "A spell?" another shake. "A... an injury?" Beau nodded this time, wincing as though recalling a particularly awful memory. Without even really thinking about it, Yasha leaned forward and pressed the softest of kisses to her throat, feeling Beau swallow beneath her lips. "Do you want me to get Jester?" she said softly. Beau just shook her head. A moment of silence passed, and Beau shivered. 

"You are still cold?" Yasha asked, trying to quell the anxiety that that realisation was causing. Beau nodded again, seeming to notice for the first time that she was wrapped up in Caleb's coat. She looked up at Yasha, before reaching to pull back the covers. Yasha immediately felt a wave of panic, putting her hands on Beau's arms to try to stop her from getting up. "Hey, hey, what're you doing? You can't get up." 

Beau nodded, pushing the covers off her legs, her fingers immediately going to her right knee. There was a thick scar already growing, where Yasha could see the blade had struck. She imagined how it'd been done; one swift thrust and the blade would come between the ball and socket of Beau's knee, ripping them apart. Yasha realised that Beau was shaking as her fingers traced over the still-fresh, pinked scar. 

Yasha moved to perch on the edge of the bed, pulling Beau in to her chest without even thinking about it. Beau winced ever so slightly, before burying her face into the crook of Yasha's neck, breathing heavily against her skin. 

"Do you want me to lay with you?" A small nod against her throat. Yasha moved immediately, manoeuvring them so that they lay together, with Beau wrapped up tightly in her arms. Her skin was cold to the touch, her breath icy. Yasha just held her as she slowly drifted back to sleep. It wasn't long before she stopped shivering. When she was sure that Beau was warm and comfortable, Yasha finally allowed herself a much-needed rest. 


	6. Chapter Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's pretty description-heavy, there's not too much dialogue. And lots and lots of Beau/Yasha :) Hope y'all enjoy :)

Beau woke up feeling gross. 

Her body was covered in dried blood and dirt, and at some point in the night she'd sweated through the sheets. She hadn't bathed in about two weeks, and she still had some vomit on her clothes. However, she couldn't help but relax a little when she felt the strong arms wrapping around her body, one under her head like a pillow, and the other around her waist. She could feel the biceps and forearm cradling her stomach, and for a moment felt that she could forget everything that had happened over the last couple of weeks. 

"Beau?" a voice asked softly in her ear. Accented, so quiet and soft. Yasha, Beau realised. "Are you awake?" 

"Yeah." Beau replied, her throat raw and burning. At least she was able to talk this morning. Yasha held her a little tighter, pressing her face to the back of Beau's neck. 

"I'll get Caduceus to order some food." 

Beau shook her head. "Bath." she said, feeling every bit of grime on her body, making her skin itch. "First." 

Yasha hummed against the back of her neck. "Are you sure, Beauregard? You need to eat, you know." 

Beau just nodded. Just thinking about eating made her feel queasy, and her throat reared angrily at the thought of it. "Bath." she said again, even that one word tearing up her raw throat. 

"Ok," Yasha pressed the softest of kisses against the back of Beau's neck. "I believe the inn has a bath for customers. I'll go and see if I can rent it or something." 

Beau felt cold and lost as soon as Yasha got up. She turned to look at her companion. Yasha looked concerned and tired, but there was also something else there when she looked at Beau... it looked like adoration, but Beau wasn't going to admit that to herself. While Yasha went to get the bath sorted, Beau slowly sat up. She remembered that she was swamped in Caleb's dirty brown coat. 

 _Caleb_. 

They needed to talk. Probably when Beau's throat wasn't such fucking agony, though. 

She debated for a moment ripping the coat off and throwing it on the ground but eventually ended up pulling it closer around herself. It smelt like smoke and incense, something very Caleb-y that made Beau feel a little safer. Whatever he'd done to her, Caleb cared for her... he was her friend - her brother - and he must've had a reason to fuck her over. She knew there had to be a reason. She was just going to have to keep reminding herself that until she got the chance to talk to him.

A couple of minutes later, Yasha returned and came over to the bed. "They are running the bath now." she said, going to gather Beau up into her arms before hesitating. "May I?" 

"I don't have... five gold." Beau managed to say, her throat burning at the effort. The way Yasha rolled her eyes and blushed a little made it worth it. 

"This one's on the house." Yasha said quietly, drawing Beau up into her arms. She walked down the hall, glaring at someone who stared when they walked past. They came across a small side room, where a hot bath had already been run. She rested Beau on the edge of the bath and started helping her undress. Beau was too tired to feel embarrassed about it. When she was naked, she felt Yasha hand rest on her side and looked up to see Yasha's eyes fixed on the bruises on her stomach. 

"Hey, it's ok." Beau croaked, putting a hand on Yasha's face and drawing her gaze up to her own. "I'm ok." 

"I wish I could go back in time and kill them all over again." Yasha said, her voice no more than a growl.

"Thanks." Beau said, not entirely sure what else she could say. "Help me?" 

Yasha nodded and got up, helping Beau to get into the bath. The water was hot and refreshing and Beau immediately felt a rush of relief wash over her. Yasha carefully untied the last of her hair that had been hanging loosely in its bun, before raising some of the water in her hands, washing her hands through the dark hair. She saw Beau's whole body tense and instantly pulled her hands away. "Sorry." she said quietly, taking a step back from the bath. 

"No, it's... it's ok." Beau said quietly, tipping her head back and closing her eyes. "Been a long time since anyone washed my hair s'all."

"You want me to...?" 

"Yeah." Beau croaked, briefly glancing up at Yasha and seeing the woman blush a bit. "Please." 

Yasha crouched down carefully behind Beau at the back of the tub. "If you want me to stop, just say." she said quietly, before scooping up some of the water and gently running it through Beau's hair. Beau tensed up again and Yasha hesitated for a moment, but Beau didn't speak up. She scooped another handful of water and gently poured it onto Beau's head. Her hair was knotted and matted with blood, and too many times Beau flinched as Yasha came across a sore patch on the scalp where the hair had been pulled out. Yasha just rubbed - hopefully soothing - circles into Beau's scalp, her fingers gently washing the shaved undercut. 

"Ok?" Yasha asked every once in a while. Each time, Beau just nodded a little, her eyes closed. As Yasha carefully began drawing her fingers through a particularly gritty knot, she reflected on how peaceful Beau looked at this moment. Usually, the smaller woman spent a great deal of her time angry, drunk and/or fighting. Now, however, her face was blank, smooth and calm, like a field with no hills. Her usually active and agitated body floated calmly in the water, and with the bruises fading on her skin, she seemed so... soft, but yet so strong. 

"Ok?" Beau opened her eyes to look briefly up at Yasha, who'd unconsciously halted her efforts. Beau's eyes had sharpened a little since Yasha had first found her, some of the strength returning to glimmer there. Those wonderfully fierce and determined blue eyes that Yasha had thought she'd never get to see again. She slowly moved her hands out of Beau's hair to rest on her face, gently running her thumb along the cheekbone. "Yasha?" Beau prompted, her lips dry and her voice so quiet. She'd started talking now, but without knowing what had happened to her throat, Yasha couldn't help her with it. Speaking clearly caused her a deal of pain though. 

"We thought..." Yasha sighed heavily, and the only thing running through her head was how soft and smooth Beau's skin was beneath the pads of her fingers. "I thought I'd lost you." 

Beau reached up one bruised and scarred hand, putting it over one of Yasha's hesitantly. Her hand felt calloused and dry, like aged parchment. Even in her weakened state, there was undeniable strength in the fingers that delicately held her own. Their eyes met and Yasha couldn't look away, didn't want to; she just wanted to sit here forever and stare into Beau's eyes, lost in the layers and depths and shapes of them.

Yasha leaned forward and pressed a delicate kiss to Beau's forehead with shaking lips. When she leaned back, Beau's eyes were closed again. 

"Would you like me to help clean you?" Yasha asked. 

Beau's face flushed with embarrassment, her fingers tightening slightly on Yasha's. She seemed indecisive for a moment, then her grip loosened slightly. "Yes." she said quietly. "Please." 

Yasha got the washcloth and slowly started wiping the blood and grime off Beau's body. She started at the bottom with her feet. The soles were bloodied and bruised, torn down from walking barefoot. Yasha carefully wiped away the blood, making sure there was no dirt or debris stuck in the wounds as she did so. Next, she got to Beau's legs. Her calfs were mostly unharmed, save for a couple of small, brown-ish bruises. Then, her thighs. Beau's face tightened and her breath hitched when Yasha got to her wounded knee. The wound itself had mostly cleared up, though the knee was still covered in dried blood.

"Ok?" 

A nod. 

Yasha took a little extra time than was probably necessary on that knee. Long after it was clean, she gently rubbed the cloth over the scar, before replacing it with her fingers. Beau's muscles began to slowly relax, but it was evident that the wound had clearly had an impact on her. Her thighs were much the same as her calfs; mostly permeated by small bruises and dried blood from her knee. Yasha stopped between Beau's legs only briefly to ensure that the area was clean, before moving to her hips. There was a big bruise on her right hip where she'd probably been thrown onto a hard surface. Her stomach was covered in a marriage of various yellow, brown and blue bruises. God, there were so many fucking bruises. 

"Oh, Beau." Yasha said softly as she saw them. Beau didn't respond, but failed to hide her flinch when Yasha began treating them as carefully as she could. It was clear that the bruises were sort of stacked, with them building on top of each other. The skin was tight and swollen, but Yasha suspected that when the swelling went down, it would become clear that Beau had lost weight. She felt Beau's stomach grumble under her hand as she cleaned and became a little more time-conscious. She moved to carefully wipe the blood off Beau's chest and arms, trying her best to ignore the small cuts that now marred the skin. It was like a forest of twigs, except that the twigs were scars where some fuckers had  _cut_ Beau. 

"Sit up." Yasha said, not meaning for it to come out so harshly. She was aware now of her hands shaking and the way she was unconsciously clenching her jaw so hard her back teeth hurt. Beau opened her eyes, looking a little out of it, then slowly got up into a sitting position. Yasha moved around to start cleaning her back. She recognised the shape of the bruising on Beau's back: it was the type of bruises her own quaterstaff left on enemies. She felt another swell of anger inside her and had to hold back her rage as she cleaned the split and welted skin. Beau's body tensed as the bruises were clearly very sore. They looked very sore. 

When Yasha was finished, she dropped the cloth into the reddened water and pressed her face into Beau's wet hair. Gods, she was shaking so much. 

She felt a muscled arm reach up and wrap around her head reassuringly, holding her to Beau's hair. She wrapped an arm around Beau in return, half-aware that her shoulders were shaking now. Shaking in fear, in anger, in grief. She'd come far too fucking close to losing Beauregard. 

She pulled away from the wet hair to meet Beau's inquisitive eyes. She leaned forward slowly, giving Beau enough time to speak up or pull away if she wanted. But Beau just closed her eyes and pressed her lips to Yasha's. They were dry and cracked with dehydration and Beau's mouth tasted a little irony, blood still evident on her breath. It wasn't an overly active kiss, they didn't become overthrown with passion or start getting possessive (which Yasha suspected Beau would usually do). They simply stayed so very close together, their lips pressed together, sharing oxygen. 

They were interrupted by Beau's rumbling stomach, and Yasha pulled away. 

"We really need to get you some food." she said quietly. Beau's eyes filled with dread that she quickly tried to hide. 

"Sure. Whatever." she cleared her throat, though the action clearly caused her a good deal of pain. "Help me up?" 

Yasha didn't ask her what made her so fearful. She suspected that Beau wouldn't tell her anyway. She helped Beau out of the bath, helping her change into some clean clothes that Fjord had been keeping in the Bag of Holding. Beau was shaking, clearly weak and tired even from this brief time away from bed. Her face suggested that she would rather do anything than eat, but Yasha tried to ignore that as she helped Beau dry off. 

Beau wouldn't like it, but she had to eat. She was weak and tired, and clearly hadn't had enough nutrients in the last couple weeks. 

Yasha just had to convince her to eat, even if it was a little bit. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is kind of very self indulgent because I wanted to write Yasha looking after Beau and I just have so much gay for these two <3 ;-;


	7. Chapter Seven

Beau waited patiently on the bed as Yasha went to get food. Judging by the light outside the window, she guessed it was very early in the morning. The sun hadn't even risen yet, Beau reflected as she idly pushed her wet hair off her face. 

She hated feeling this weak. She hated that she couldn't even clean herself and had to have Yasha do it for her. She hated that Yasha was going to force her to eat, but hated even more how much she was dreading eating. Gods, she was getting soft, and very weak. She had let them take her, had let them torture her, had let them beat her for information she didn't have. She hadn't even tried to escape when the woman had dragged her away from the Nein, bundling her into the back of the cart. Gods she'd been so fucking stupid and very fucking weak.

Her dad had raised her to be stronger than this. She'd trained to be stronger than this. 

When Yasha returned, ten minutes later, Beau was just staring into the middle distance. Yasha put the tray of food on the bedside table and knelt down in front of Beau.

"Hey, what's the matter?" she said softly, putting both her hands on Beau's face. Her hands were warm and soft and comforting.

"I..." Beau's voice caught in her throat. Fuck, it hurt. "I let them..." 

"Oh, Beau." Yasha said softly, her face becoming understanding but sad. "It's not your fault. Nothing they did to you is your fault-" 

"If I'd just fought back-" Beau's voice raised slightly, the words dragging along her throat in a croak. 

"You did." Yasha said. She picked up one of Beau's hands in her own, turning it over so they could both see the bruises dotted along the knuckles. "You see this? You fought back." she moved her hand down to Beau's burned and bruised wrist. "See this? This was you fighting back, Beau. There were just more of them than there was of you. It's not your fault." 

Beau just looked away.

"It's not your fault." Yasha repeated. "And I'll keep telling you that until you believe me, ok?" 

Beau just nodded silently. Yasha grabbed a glass of water off the tray she'd brought up and put it in Beau's shaking hand. "Drink this." 

Beau sipped it slowly - painfully slowly. Yasha knew she had to be dehydrated by the cracks in her lips and the fact that she hadn't peed since they found her, nearly twenty four hours ago. However, every couple of sips, she stopped and closed her eyes, seeming struggling to drink the water. Yasha reached out and took her free hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. Beau paused for a moment, resting the half-full glass on her knee. 

"Try to drink it all," Yasha said softly. "You need it." 

Beau nodded. "Just gimme a sec." Her body didn't want her to drink anymore. Despite how thirsty she was, her stomach churned a little whenever she sipped the water.  _Get it together, Beauregard_ , she said quietly to herself. She lifted the glass to her lips again, and sipped again. It took her the better part of ten minutes, but she managed to finish off the glass of water. She handed the glass back to Yasha, who'd been waiting patiently. 

"Ready to eat?" 

_No, no, no, no, no._

"Sure." Beau said quietly, glancing over at the food Yasha had brought up. It was a plate of various meats - lots of bacon - and softened vegetables. She took a deep breath, overcoming the way her stomach turned at the memory of the last time she'd eaten. 

Yasha brought the plate over, settling back in her spot and carefully parting Beau's knees to settle between them. She put both of her hands on Beau's waist in an attempt to comfort her. Beau stayed very still for a brief moment, except for a couple of harsh swallows. She glanced at Yasha, her eyes pleading. Yasha just brought the plate closer to Beau. 

"What do you want?" she asked. Beau looked away, her eyes avoiding looking at the food. Then, she shrugged, avoiding the question. Yasha picked up the fork and scooped some carrot and parsnip onto it. 

"I can feed myself." Beau said, her voice cold and distant. Yasha didn't take offence by her tone, just handing her the fork. Beau took a deep breath, raising the food to her mouth. Luckily, it'd cooled in the time that she'd been drinking the water. She wasn't sure she could handle hot food right now. The food was good. Beau's stomach turned a little at the sensation of having food in her stomach, and whenever she swallowed, she had to fight the way her throat tried to bring it back up. Yasha held onto her, one hand reassuringly grounding her waist, and the other rubbing small circles into her thigh. 

Beau was barely three bites in when she felt like she couldn't eat any more. Her stomach had shrunk considerably over the last couple of weeks and had become unaccustomed to food that wasn't tasteless mush. She put the fork down and saw Yasha's face subtly crease in worry. 

"Not hungry." she said, her throat even more raw than before. 

Yasha seemed torn between trying to make Beau eat more and just leaving her. "Ok," she said finally, putting the plate back on the bedside table. "But will you try to eat again a bit later, please?" 

Beau nodded. "Yeah." 

"You should get some sleep." Yasha replied, helping her into the bed and tucking the covers up around her. 

"As much as I want you here," Beau croaked as the cover settled under her chin. "You need sleep too." 

"I slept here yesterday." Yasha said, a little confused. 

"You didn't sleep properly, though." Beau said, then winced. Fuck, whole sentences hurt. A lot. "I kept you awake." 

"I was just worried-" 

"Sleep in one of the others' rooms?" Beau asked, looking up at Yasha. "You need a break." 

Yasha sighed heavily. "If you want. I'll ask one of the others to come in and keep an eye on you though." 

"Not Caleb." 

Yasha froze as Beau closed her eyes. "Why not?" 

Beau didn't reply, trying to find a comfortable position in the bed. Despite having only been up for about an hour and a half, she was exhausted and the bed felt so warm and comforting. Yasha pressed a kiss to her forehead, pouring a little more healing magic into the contact. Beau hummed in appreciation, feeling the magic soothe her wounds and aches. 

She was asleep again in under a minute.

*** 

While Yasha and Beau were sleeping, the rest of the Nein sat in the tavern, drowning themselves in drink. Caleb sat with his head in a book, Nott sitting beside him and drinking heavily from her flask. Caduceus was nursing a cup of tea and praying silently to the Wildmother. Jester was leaning her back against Fjord as she doodled in her notebook, drawing a picture of Beau. Leaning over slightly and looking closer, Fjord saw that it was a hyper-realistic drawing of Beau when she'd meditated at the beach. She looked calm and peaceful in the picture. 

"That's a real nice drawing, Jes." Fjord said quietly. 

"You think so?" Jester replied, looking briefly up at him with her energetic eyes. "I just remember Beau looked really really pretty. And... calm." 

"Yeah, I remember." 

"Do you think she is going to be ok?" Jester asked, closing her sketchbook and turning to face Fjord properly. "Like... really, ok?" 

Fjord sighed. "I think she will. She's really strong. She probably just needs some time, Jes." 

"Caleb?" 

The wizard glanced up from his notebook. "Ja?" 

"Do you think Beau is going to be ok?" 

A moment of hesitation. "Ja, I think she will be fine. She has us to look after her." 

"I just wish we could've gotten to her sooner." Jester said, her tail curling around Fjord's arm. He didn't seem to mind. 

"We got there-" Caduceus began

"-As fast as you could." a gravelly voice finished. They all turned to see Beau standing behind them, a sad smile on her face. Although she was standing, she was leaning heavily against a nearby chair, her body slumped in a way that was unusual for her. 

"Beau!" Jester said excitedly, leaping to her feet and wrapping her arms around her friend. "You are looking so much better. And you smell cleaner which is nice, did you have a bath? Do you want some food? Or some water? I have some pastries-" 

"I'm fine, thank you, Jessie." Beau said, wrapping one of her arms tightly around her friend. 

"You should be resting." Caleb said with a blink. Beau ignored him, sitting down beside Fjord, and having Jester sit on her other side. 

"You know, we tried to come for you sooner, Beau." Jester said, her tail swishing anxiously. 

"I know." Beau said quietly. 

"We went to the Azmarin," Jester recounted quickly. "And me and Fjord pretended to be your parents and that we were like  _super_ concerned about you, which wasn't like really an act, y'know? And while we kept the guards distracted, Frumpkin and Nott searched the place from top to bottom but they couldn't find you, and they'd already moved you, Beau! It took us a while to figure out that they'd moved you somewhere super top secret, and we got there, and you were already on the road! We figured out they were going to take you to Rexxentrum, but like it still took us a while to find you and we had to travel, like, non-stop to catch up because you got a couple of days head start." 

She was a bit breathless as she stopped, and Beau realised - scared. "It's ok, Jes." she said softly, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "I'm just glad you guys found me when you did." 

"Yeah, you really didn't look too good when we found you," Nott said. "Yasha carried you all the way here, you know." she leaned forward conspiratorially. "I think she  _likes_ you." 

Beau blushed just a little. "Don't be silly," she said. "She just didn't want to lose another friend after... y'know, Molly." 

"Yeah." Fjord stared into the middle distance. "For what it's worth, Beau, we would've done fuckin' anything to get you back. And Caleb really was the one who realised they were talking you to Rexxentrum. We wouldn't have been able to get you back if not for him." 

"Yeah?" Beau kept her eyes trained on Fjord, not even looking at Caleb. She didn't think she could face him right now. Not without remembering that he'd betrayed her. Not without remembering every little fucking thing that had been done to her. 

"You should really get some more rest," Caduceus said. "Have you eaten?" 

"Yeah, Yasha got me to eat some food earlier." 

"Hm." Caduceus said thoughtfully. "Perhaps you should eat some more? Are you hungry?" 

"I'm good thanks," Beau said, though Caduceus was peering right past her deception. "I do think I'm going to go back to bed in a minute though. I'm feeling really-" 

There was the sound of heavy, running feet coming from the stairs and they all looked over to see Yasha appearing at the bottom of the stairs, her sword drawn and a look of panic on her face. Her eyes scanned the crowd of the tavern, before falling upon Beau with a look of relief. She sheathed her sword and came over to the table. 

"I thought-" she cleared her throat as she approached the table. "You can't just go disappearing without telling anyone." 

"I told these guys," Beau said with a slight frown. "They know where I am." 

"Yeah, just..." Yasha flushed a little. "Don't worry about it. You shouldn't be up and about, you should be resting." 

"Yeah, I just wanted to stretch my legs and see the others." Beau said. Yasha seemed like she'd argue for a minute, but ended up just sitting down on the other side of Jester. 

"If you start feeling... you know, shit, at all," Yasha said quickly. "Let us know, yeah?" 

Beau just nodded. "So... I have a request." 

"Yeah?" Jester said. "Anything." 

"It's... it's gonna be a risk but I want to get Dairon out." 

They all stared at her. Finally, Fjord shifted uncomfortably and leaned forward. "I... I don't know if that's going to be possible, Beau. We don't know what happened to her, where she is... or even if she's still alive." 

"I know, I know." Beau said. "But, please... I owe Dairon a lot. I won't ever be able to forgive myself if I don't at least try." 

"Ok," Yasha said. "We will try. But first, promise you're going to rest and heal up." 

Beau tapped her foot impatiently. "I'm better... I'm fine. The longer we wait, the more danger she's in..." 

"I'm with Yasha on this one." Fjord said. "I'm sorry, Beau, but until you're better we can't go after Dairon." 

"Ja," Caleb said. "But when you are better... we will go  _together_." 

Beau bit her lip, considering arguing. "Fine. One day." 

"Two." Jester said. "We can't help Dairon if you're not feeling good." 

"You guys aren't backing down, are you?" Beau looked around at them all. "Fine. Two days." 

"You look tired," Yasha said quietly. "Would you like me to take you to bed?" 

Ignoring Jester wink and suggestive noises, Beau nodded. She was already tired and from being out of bed for so long. And she wanted to have a chat with Yasha anyway. She allowed Yasha to lead her back up to their room, and settled down into bed. 

"How are you feeling?" Yasha asked quietly. 

"Hungry." Beau replied, sitting down and looking at the plate of food that was still on the bedside table. "I'm gonna need my strength back if we're going after Dairon."


	8. Chapter Eight

At first, when Yasha was awoken in the middle of the night, she felt a surge of panic. She could count the number of things that could wake her from her slumber on one hand, and none of them were pleasant. She was just getting ready to leap up and go for her sword when she realised what had awoken her; the squirming figure in the bed beside her. 

“Beauregard?” she said softly, sitting up a little. Beau didn’t respond, and in the moonlight drifting through the window, Yasha could see her face. She was fast asleep, though her face was contorted in anger and fear. A glimmering of sweat covered her face, almost seeming to sparkle in the moonlight. Her eyes were moving around rapidly behind her eyelids. Yasha put her hands on both sides of Beau face, steadying her, and saw deep, bleeding half-crescents in her arms where she’d dug her nails into her own flesh. 

“Beau?” Yasha said softly, giving her the smallest of shakes, terrified of hurting her. “Beau wake up. It’s ok... whatever you’re seeing... it isn't real. You are here. You are safe. I’ll keep you safe.” 

It took her a couple more minutes, and more shaking, Beau’s eyes slowly fluttered and opened. For a moment, her face was just a mask of panic and fear, and then her eyes cleared and sharpened. Then, she shoved Yasha aside, breaking away from her and leaning over the edge of the bed. Yasha barely had time to feel hurt and confused before Beau started throwing up violently. 

“Beau!” Yasha scooted to the edge of the bed, putting a hand on Beau’s back and scooping her hair out of her face. She held Beau for ten minutes, rubbing small circles into her lower back as she vomited. Eventually, the heaving came to a stop long after Beau had emptied her stomach of all of its contents. Yasha drew Beau up tightly into a hug, ignoring the smell of sick permeating the air. 

“Fuck.” Beau groaned eventually, her face muffled in Yasha’s shoulder. 

“You feel any better?” Yasha said softly, running a hand through Beau’s soft hair. 

“No.” Beau said quietly, her face nuzzling deeper into Yasha’s collarbone. Yasha held her closer, feeling as though she could try to hug the shaking out of Beau’s body. 

“Do you want to talk about it?”

”No.” 

So they didn't talk, and Yasha just held her. Without even realising it, she began humming an old Celestial lullaby that she'd learnt as a child. It took some time, but Beau's shaking slowly began to still and the tension seemed to drain out of her body. 

"Thanks, Yash." she said quietly. 

"Don't mention it." Yasha replied softly. "But I think you should talk to someone about what happened. Even if it isn't me." 

"Yeah." Beau shifted in Yasha's arms, hiding her face. "I don't... I don't know where to start." 

"Wherever you are comfortable starting." Yasha said, laying the both of them back down and wrapping Beau up in the covers. "But I think for now, we should start with sleeping." 

"I don't know if I'll be able to." Beau said quietly, hating how weak she must seem. 

"Well then just try to rest." Yasha said softly, wrapping her arms around Beau and holding the smaller woman to her chest. She burrowed her face into the back of Beau's neck, trying to remind her that she was going to keep her safe. She felt Beau's tense shoulders slowly release and her breathing started to even out. 

"Yasha?" 

"Yes, Beauregard?" 

"Can you," Beau cleared her throat uncomfortably. "Will you hum me that song again? I dunno, might help me sleep." 

Yasha didn't say anything, but gently stared rubbing circles into Beau's stomach and humming softly into her hair. Despite her earlier prediction, it didn't take very long for Beau to fall asleep. 

***

Caleb was sitting at a table in the inn, absently petting Frumpkin, when Beau approached the table. 

"Walk with me." 

He glanced up at her, trying to squash down the pang of guilt at seeing her. Her throat was mostly healed, her voice still scratchy, but slowly returning to normal. She constantly seemed thin and hunched. Most of the wounds had healed and though she seemed to have more strength, she still flinched whenever someone raised a hand near her. She still seemed repulsed by the smell of food. She still avoided looking at him. 

Until now. 

Now, her blue eyes were burning with some of their usual fire, boring into Caleb and telling him that it wasn't a request that she'd made; it was an order. 

"Ja." Caleb blinked twice, looking away and trying to keep himself composed. He pulled his copper wire out of his pocket as he stood, quickly sending a message to Nott that he was going for a walk. Then, with Frumpkin trailing behind them, the two of them exited the tavern. 

For the longest time, as they walked through the bustling and busy streets, Beau didn't say anything. He glanced up at her briefly to see those stern walls thrown up, her jaw clenched and her eyes fixed forward. Revealing none of the emotion she was undoubtedly feeling. Beauregard was good at hiding her emotions, he thought idly. So much better than he was. 

They wandered for ten minutes, and though Caleb figured that Beau didn't have a destination in mind, she walked with such purpose that he couldn't help but follow. It wasn't long until he'd scooped Frumpkin into his arms, holding the cat close to him and finding some reassurance in the purr vibrating through his chest. 

Beau eventually came to a small outcropping of trees, and headed towards the largest. Before Caleb could protest, she began to climb. Even from the ground, he could see the tension in her arms as she made her way upwards, the slight shake in her unsteady legs. When she was about halfway up, she paused, breathing heavily, wiping sweat off her forehead. She glanced down at Caleb briefly, then started climbing again, with none of her usual agility. She found a big, sturdy branch, about twenty feet off the ground, setting down on it before looking back down at Caleb expectantly. 

"Coming?" 

He cleared his throat, looking up at Beau in the tree, his eyes picking at the branches. "I can't-" 

"You know what my dad used to tell me?" Beau cut him off, not looking at him now. She wasn't raising her voice any, and he strained to hear her. "Used to tell me,  _Beauregard, you can't climb trees_ , and  _Beauregard, you can't cuss at your teachers_ , and  _Beauregard, you can't keep company with the girls from the village_." 

She didn't need to say anything else. After a moment of contemplative silence, Caleb sent Frumpkin up the tree ahead of him. Then, he began climbing with difficulty, his weak muscles not used to the strain. He wasn't as acrobatic as she was, and there were a couple of times where he scrambled against the trunk with difficulty. When he got about fifteen feet up, she finally relented ignoring him and reached down. He glanced up to see her scarred, brown hand reaching for him. He reached up and took it with his own, pale and clammy hand. He felt her arm shake with the effort, but she managed to pull him up to the branch. He put a leg on either side of it, like he was in a horse's saddle, and faced Beauregard. Frumpkin settled in between them, kneading the branch for a moment before settling down. 

"Why are we in a tree, Beauregard?" Caleb asked finally, feeling surge of nausea at the silence. 

She seemed to think about it for a moment, as though she hadn't really considered it before. Finally, she shrugged. "Used to climb trees all the fuckin' time. When I was a kid. My dad used to get real fuckin' mad about it too. Kinda made me want to do it more." 

"Right," Caleb said, waiting for her to get to the point. She didn't continue, and for precisely fifty three seconds, they sat in complete silence. "You shouldn't be over-exerting yourself." 

"I know." Beau said, flexing her arms slightly and wincing. "Feels like my muscles are made of putty, you know? I feel like my ki has been messed with, like my body hasn't found its harmony, like I can't... I just can't seem to  _work right_." 

"You are not a device, Beauregard." he said quietly, not meeting her eyes. "You're allowed to have moments of weakness." 

Her jaw clenched, and he saw the visible struggle of her not telling him that she wasn't weak. Proving she wasn't weak. "It's hard to remember that sometimes." 

"That was your father's doing, ja?" Caleb drew Frumpkin close to him, petting the Fey creature on his head. Frumpkin purred louder. "He wanted you to be soft, but you were not soft, you climbed trees and swore at your teachers and spent time with the village girls. Perhaps you forgot that everybody is soft sometimes, and that's not necessarily a bad thing." 

"Hm." Beau wrinkled her nose. "When did you become wise?" 

Caleb didn't reply to that.

"So, uh, my ki is all fucked and stuff and I need to chill out and like, be one with my body or whatever." Beau said, all in a rush. She shifted a little to find a more comfortable position and closed her eyes. 

"Are you meditating?" 

"Yeah." 

"In a tree?" 

"Trying to." she replied, opening an eye and peering at him with irritation. He nodded and she closed the eye again. 

He was silent for twenty three seconds. "Why am I here, Beauregard?" 

Beau opened her eyes again, seeming exasperated. For a moment, she seemed indecisive, biting her lip. "I'm soft," she said eventually, her voice little more than a quivering whisper. "I need someone... I need..." she took a deep breath. "I don't have too much of my own fuckin' strength right now, so I was really hoping you could lend me some of yours." 

Caleb digested that for a moment. Then, he sent Frumpkin a mental command to go over and curl up in Beau's lap. He found a reasonably comfortable position, leaning back against another branch. He closed his eyes, trying to relax his body despite being twenty feet off the ground. When he finally felt that he had some semblance of calm and peace, ignoring the errant twig poking him in the back, he reached out a hand. It was fourteen seconds before Beau's calloused hand found his own, and it was warm and hesitant.

He took a deep and deliberate breath in, relishing the feeling of the oxygen in his lungs, focusing only on his lungs working. "One..." he said as he exhaled. He inhaled again, another deep lungful of air, then back out again, saying "Two..." this time. He breathed in again, and on the exhale, he heard Beau's gruff voice, quiet, in time with his own, "Three..." 

He remembered the chafing of the gag they'd put in his mouth to stop him from casting. Inhale. Exhale. "Four." 

He remembered the fear he'd felt at the guard's uniform; the Cerberus Assembly. Inhale, exhale. "Five." 

He remembered the look on Beau's face as they dragged her away: the betrayal. Inhale, exhale. "Six." 

He remembered the blood covering her clothes when they'd found her. Inhale exhale. "Seven." 

He remembered the irregular rise and fall of her chest, her breathing caged and pained. Inhaleexhale. "Eight." 

He remembered the guilt, the overwhelming guilt, the knowledge that he'd done this, that he'd sold Beauregard down the river and allowed these people to hurt her - encouraged it almost - and it was his fault and if he wasn't such a fucking coward he could've stopped it -

"Nine." Beau said encouragingly, squeezing his hand tightly. He focused on that. The hand squeezing his. 

He remembered the feeling of Beau's warm, calloused hand pulling him up into the tree, despite the way her own arms were shaking. Inhale... exhale... "Ten." 

He cracked open an eye to see Beau with her eyes closed, her face unusually impassive, a mask of calm. She was still; too still. Beau was always impatient energy, never stationary, constantly fidgeting and moving. She stayed entirely silent and still for fifteen minutes, each breath of hers measured and even. Caleb just sat watching as she did so, using the time to reflect on the fact that his friend was alive. She was alive. He was also trying to think of what he could possibly tell her when she re-emerged from her meditation. 

Eventually, her eyes fluttered open, looking slightly dazed and tired but somehow well-rested. She locked eyes with Caleb briefly, before squeezing his hand tighter then releasing it. 

"I'm really fucking mad at you," she said, sounding more tired than anything. "I'm mad that you fucking told them I was the asshole who held your family hostage. I'm mad that you left me when I needed you . But most of all - and I can't stress this enough - I am fucking livid that you're beating yourself up over it. I'm angry enough for the both of us, man."

Caleb considered it for a moment, his eyes tracing her face for any sign of deceit. "I should not have left you behind, Beauregard. And for that I'm sorry." 

"Yeah, I'm still real fuckin' mad at you," Beau said, with the slightest trace of a smile quirking her lip. "But... I forgive you. I get why you did it. And you came back for me in the end."

"So did the others." 

"Stop with all the self-hate, Caleb," she said quietly, putting her head back against the trunk of the tree and closing her eyes. "I've tried that. It don't get you nowhere. I'm alive, and you're alive. At the end of the day, that's all that really matters in this bullshit world." 

Caleb wanted to argue that that absolutely wasn't the truth, but the tired and defeated look on Beau's face convinced him otherwise. Perhaps right now, just for a second, Caleb could forget all of the guilt and just be grateful that they were both alive. Beau cracked open an eye. 

"Jester just sent me a message." she said, her voice raspy. "Everyone is freaking the fuck out. We should probably head back. I'm pretty sure Nott is gonna start going door to door soon." 

Caleb allowed a breath of a laugh. "I fear getting down will be even harder than getting up, ja?" 

"There's a dick joke there somewhere and I'm not gonna be the one to make it," Beau said with a grin, and Caleb felt a smile creep onto his own face. Not because of her lame comment, but because she was starting to look more like herself again. "You got your spell that helps us fall slowly? Gonna be honest, I used like a hundred and ten percent of my energy reserve to get up here." 

"Ja, I have the spell." Caleb said, stretching out as Frumpkin moved from Beau's lap onto her shoulder. "You ready?" 

"Sure, brother." 

The two of them headed back to the inn together, trading funny stories and - oddly enough - even a joke or two. For a brief - but no less important - couple of minutes, it was like nothing had changed between the two of them. 


	9. Chapter Nein

It was cold and dark and everything hurt. Everything felt like defeat and the air smelt of stale piss and dried blood. There was a scuffling of feat, quiet voices. The figure in the cell tipped their head, listening to the sound of approaching guards and knowing that a beating was coming. They waited with bated breath as the hall slowly began to flicker to life with candle-light. 

"Yeah, they're saying the other one escaped. Three guards are dead," a voice said quietly. "They think she might have some co-conspirators." 

"Fuck." the other voice replied. "They got any leads on her?" 

"Not yet." the first replied. "They want us to try to beat it out of this one." 

"You think she knows?" 

"I don't know." the first figure stepped in front of the caged bars, his face illuminating in the light of the candle. "But one way or the other, I'm gonna find out."

From her space curled in the back of the cell, Dairon felt her lips slowly draw into a subtle grin. 

Beauregard had gotten away.

***

"I want some strong ale." Beau said as she sat down at the table with the rest of the Nein. Caleb sat down next to her, closer than he was usually willing to sit aside anyone but Nott, and Frumpkin settled in the small space between them. Fjord looked between the two of them, raising an eyebrow. 

"What's going on?" he said. "Where did you two wander off to?" 

"Just to have a walk." Caleb said honestly. 

"Did you guys kiss and make up?" Jester asked, leaning across the table with a playful smile.

"Ew, no." Beau said, grimacing a little. "Sorry, Caleb, you're really not my type." 

"Ja, you're not mine either." 

"Good." 

"Good." 

"For what it's worth," Caduceus said. "I think you probably shouldn't be consuming alcohol right now." 

"Yeah, well for what it's worth," Beau replied. "I don't usually listen to people when they tell me not to drink." Beau called over the barmaid and ordered a pint of ale. "So what's the plan, then you guys?" 

"The plan for...?" Nott put in. 

"Getting Dairon out, remember?" 

"Well..." Fjord drew out the word. "We've been talkin' a bit while you two have been out  _walking_. We reckon busting Dairon outta jail ain't gonna do a damn bit of good, even if we can find her, presuming she's still alive. We think-" 

"Come on, you guys said you'd help me!" 

"We are going to help you!" Jester said excitedly, her tail curling around the table leg. "We think the best thing to do will be to like, find dirt on the guy who got you guys arrested and get him put away! 'Cause, like, if we just break Dairon out, then both of you will be like, enemies of the Empire or whatever and probably hunted to the end of the world, you know? So technically, this is a better plan because you will both be safe forever." 

Fjord put out a hand. "Maybe not  _forever_ , but the two of you won't be wanted criminals anymore." 

"What do you think?" Yasha said, finally speaking up. Beau met her eyes across the table. 

"I think that is the best idea." Caleb offered, and Beau saw his shaking hand petting his fey cat. The idea of tracking down a wizard of the Cerberus Assembly probably wasn't particularly exciting for him. Actually, more likely it was quite the opposite. He was doing a good job of hiding how terrified he was. 

Beau sighed. "You guys have kind of already decided, haven't you?" Nods, all round. She bit her lip. "Well, alright, but... gods, I just hope she's alright." 

"We'll make sure she is." Yasha said reassuringly, reaching across the table and taking one of Beau's hands. 

"Did  _you guys_ kiss and make up?" Jester giggled, her tail now swishing about mischievously. 

"Jester!" Fjord said, exasperated. 

Beau ignored them. "So it's like two o'clock now -" 

"Two thirty three." Caleb corrected automatically. 

"If we leave now, we can make some decent headway before nightfall!" 

They all exchanged looks. "I believe we agreed to leave tomorrow, Miss Beauregard." Caduceus said finally. 

"Yeah, but I'm like, better now." Beau said. "I've eaten, I've slept, I've bathed. I'm all fuckin' healed up again. Come on guys, we can go today and if we buy some horses, we can make it a good few miles. C'mon, look at me. I'm fuckin' fine." 

"I'm sorry Beau," Fjord said, taking the initiative. "But we agreed we'd leave tomorrow. You need your strength back." 

Beau went to protest, but Nott cut in. "And you need to be able to keep some food down." 

Beau frowned, looking over at Yasha, trying not to be angry. "What, you told them all?" 

"Beau, don't be angry." Yasha said, seeming almost tired. "We are just trying to do what's best for you. And I felt it was important for everyone to know that you were sick last night. It's not a huge deal, Beauregard, but if you can't keep food in your body, you're going to have trouble travelling and fighting."

"Sure. Whatever." Beau said, standing up stiffly. "I'm gonna head upstairs. Just shout if you need me." When Yasha half-stood, she held up a hand. "I want some alone time." she said, doing her best to ignore the look of hurt that flashed over Yasha's face. It was only there for a half second, but Beau still felt a pang of guilt. 

"Ok." Yasha sat back down, looking glumly at the table. The others all watched as Beau disappeared up the stairs. 

"Someone should really talk to her." Jester said quietly, finally breaking the silence. 

"Ja, she's been very weird about food since we found her." 

"I'd'a thought that with all the weight she's lost an' that, that she'd be scarfing it down." Fjord put in, folding his fingers together.

"Well, there are certain types of torture that train people's body to be averse to food," Caleb said quietly. "Messing with a person's appetite is a good way to get to them, since food is so essential to survival." 

"I dunno, there's somethin' real unsettlin' about Beau avoidin' food. Usually she eats nearly as much as Nott." 

"I'll take that as a compliment." the goblin grinned, revealing a row of crooked teeth. 

"I think you should talk to her," Yasha said, looking at Caduceus. "You're good at talking to people about things they don't really want to talk about." 

"Yeah, and you could make her some really nice food!" Jester put in, sitting up a little straighter. "And maybe that'll convince her to eat, because your food is really good, Deuce!" 

"I could do," Caduceus gave them all a warm smile. "Are you sure none of you are better suited for it?" he looked at Yasha. 

"I've tried getting through to her," Yasha sighed, sitting back in her seat a little. "I believe that because of our tendency of fighting together in combat, she doesn't want to reveal any of her perceived weaknesses to me." 

"But also she likes your snuggles." Jester said with a playful smile. 

"But also... yeah." Yasha said, unable to disagree. "I've been told I give good hugs." 

"You really do, Yasha!" Jester said, practically bouncing in her seat. "I think it's because you're so big and warm!" 

"Thanks, Jester." Yasha said curtly. "So, Caduceus... will you try to talk to her?" 

***

Beau was silently fuming in bed when there was a knock on the door. While she'd been out with Caleb, Yasha had had the room cleaned, but there was still the faintest smell of vomit to remind her of her nightmare last night. She laid back on the bed, putting her aching arms behind her head. Even just climbing that tree with Caleb had left her muscles weak and sore. Gods, she had to get back into shape before they went to help Dairon. 

The soft knock on the door was confident but not too loud. Beau tipped her head a little. It wasn't Jester, she figured, or Caleb. Nott or Yasha would've just walked in. Meaning it was Caduceus or Fjord. 

"Fuck off!" she called. Another soft knock. So... Caduceus then. Fjord would've noped out of there after that. "Fine... come in!" 

A moment later, the Firbolg stooped to enter the room. He was carrying a mug of something and a plate of food that made Beau groan inwardly. He settled down comfortably on the end of her bed, and she scooted out of the way. 

"The others send you to make me eat?" she asked, already knowing the answer. 

"Sort of," he said softly, putting the food and drink down on the bedside table. "They asked me to come and speak with you, but I can't make you eat if you don't want to." 

She cracked one eye open to look up at him suspiciously. "So you're not gonna make me eat?" 

"Well, I doubt I could if I wanted to," he smiled warmly. "You are a lot stronger than me and kind of, ah, wiggly." 

Beau slowly sat up, ignoring the blood that rushed to her head. She looked into the mug that he'd brought her; it was a mug of some kind of alcohol. "Thought you said I shouldn't be drinking?" 

"Well I thought that it might, perhaps, be a serviceable payment for you to be willing to talk and hear me out." he said, passing her the mug. She sipped the drink; whatever it was, it was strong but sweet, almost like an alcoholic honey. 

"Alright." she said finally, satisfied with the drink. "You got like, five minutes. Lay it on me." 

"Well, as I'm sure you're aware, your friends are concerned for you." he said softly. "Especially Yasha. And after everything you've been through, I don't really blame them. It's normal to have trauma from this kind of thing. It takes time for you to heal, physically, mentally, and emotionally. Although you're mostly recovered physically, I uh, I think it might take you a little bit longer to heal mentally and emotionally. I don't want to press any uncomfortable, eh, wounds, but you are clearly having some kind of uncomfortable relationship with food." 

"I'm not..." Beau paused to take a gulp of her drink. "I don't have like a problem or anything. It's like whenever I try to eat, my stomach remembers..." she faltered slightly, looking into the mug. 

Caduceus waited patiently, humming to himself idly. Beau took another, longer gulp of her drink, draining the last of the mug. She felt her stomach convulse and spasm but managed to hold it in. She could handle losing food. She could not handle it if she couldn't keep alcohol down. That was... pretty much her worst nightmare. 

"They figured out that hurting me wasn't really getting anywhere, you know?" she said finally, trying to instil her voice with nonchalance. There was a moment of silence and suddenly Frumpkin appeared in the middle of the room, blinking into existence and stretching. Beau considered for a moment booting the cat across the room and screaming at Caleb for invading her private conversation. The cat then looked up at her with big eyes, letting out a questioning, "mew?". Finally, Beau relented and allowed him to jump up onto the bed, where he walked back and forth over her lap a couple of times, then settled down, kneading her thighs. When he decided she was comfortable, he settled into a ball and allowed Beau to pet him. 

"They came up with some more...  _creative_ ways to get at me." Beau said distantly. "First it was sleep deprivation. Whenever I'd doze off, they'd throw ice cold water over me. Double points to them, 'cause I was freezing my ass off. That was pretty hard to handle in itself. Then..." she knotted her fingers in Frumpkin's fur, which she figured distantly probably upset him. "Then they started messing with my food. At first, I refused to eat whatever they gave me, but after a couple of days I didn't have a choice. It was on the fifth day that they..." she cleared her throat, blinking away the tears threatening to escape her eyes. Fucking stupid emotions and shit. "At first, they would beat me every time I ate. They'd put the food in the room, and as soon as I started eating, they'd beat me. It was... it was fucking weird. I was so hungry but I knew that if I ate, they would fucking, start kicking me again and shit. And then they bought in this 'expert'." she shuddered, gripping Frumpkin even tighter. His fur stood on end and his ears fell back, but he didn't try to move or attack her. "He was... he clearly knew about people's bodies. So he would always bring me the food and sit there and wait for me to eat it. I wish I could say I fucking resisted, but I didn't... I was just so fucking hungry. He'd wait until I ate, wait like fifteen minutes for my body to absorb some of the nutrients or whatever, and then he'd... I dunno, man, it was weird. He'd punch me in the stomach, but he knew the exact spot to make me throw the food back up. It was... fuck." 

She paused, and Caduceus slowly leaned over and put a big hand on her back, gently rubbing circles between her shoulder blades. She felt some of the tension leave her body but she was still shaking. 

"Take your time. It's ok." Caduceus said quietly. 

Beau nodded, releasing her hands from Frumpkin's fur. The cat was visibly relieved, and even allowed Beau to continue petting him as she had done before. 

"It was like the food was in my body long enough that it'd all get like absorbed and stuff, you know? Like it was enough to keep me alive but it kept me... real fucking hungry." she hesitated. "And it fucking hurt too. By the third time it happened, I was throwing up more blood than anything else. I... I just... they were fuckin' smart about it, I'll give 'em that. They kept me so fucking weak but never enough that I'd die. If my injuries ever got too bad, they brought in a healer to keep me from bleedin' out on them. But... but every time I think about eating, it's like my stomach is already preparing to throw it back up again. And I just... I expect to be fuckin' hit a whole lot, I guess." 

Caduceus didn't say anything for a moment, just rubbing small circles in her back still. "It's ok to cry you know." 

"What?"

"It's ok to cry. It's not a sign of weakness, it's just a sign of emotion. There's nothing wrong with crying in this situation. You've been through a lot. Nobody is going to think less of you for crying." 

"Yeah." Beau twitched her nose, trying to allow herself to fully feel the emotions that threatened to consume her. "I wish I could, but I don't think I can cry right now." 

"Well, regardless," Caduceus ceased the circles and instead just wrapped his arm around her, holding her close to him. "It was very brave of you to talk about what happened. And now it means that we can help you more." 

Beau tipped her head back, closing her eyes halfway. When she didn't say anything, Caduceus took it as his cue to continue. 

"Yasha said you ate a little with her yesterday." he said. She just nodded. "How did that feel?" 

"Fucking... terrifying." she admitted quietly. 

"But you still managed it?" 

"Yeah, well..." she gave a small, sad smile. "I know that nobody would be allowed to hurt me while Yasha was in the room." 

"Yasha makes you feel safe?" Caduceus asked. She thought for a moment, then shrugged, giving a slightly self-conscious nod. "That's nice. Well, that's something we can work with. If you eat with Yasha around, your body will remember that it's safe to eat. It'll take some time but you can undo the behaviours they forced you into. Eventually - it'll take some time - but you'll be able to eat without even thinking about being hurt or being sick."

"Yeah?" Beau hated how small her voice sounded. Caduceus was good at making people feel as though they were allowed to be vulnerable. 

"Yes." Caduceus nodded. "Between us, we'll look after you, Beau. Your friends - myself included - are here to ensure that your recovery go as smoothly as possible." 

"Thanks, Deuces." 

"Not a problem," Caduceus smiled, and got up. "I made you a bacon pie. I wasn't too sure about the combination, but I know how much you like bacon, so I thought it might be apt. I can go and get Yasha if you think it'll help?" 

Beau considered it for a moment. She looked at the pie. Fuck, it smelled really good, but her stomach churned at the thought of having any food in her body.  _Yasha won't let anybody hurt me_ , she told herself.  _You can eat. Nobody is gonna make you throw it back up. Except maybe yourself._

"Yes please." she said finally. Caduceus nodded, heading for the door. 

"I'll leave Frumpkin, too, he seems to make you calmer, and I know he enjoys your company." 

Beau raised an eyebrow, not entirely sure he was being truthful with her. "Deuce?" she said as he got to the door. He turned back to her with his usual, polite smile. "Thank you, really. Properly. I, ah, appreciate it. And the pie smells fuckin' great. I'll try not to spew it everywhere." 

Caduceus smiled a little wider. "Anytime, Beau. We're all here to help." 

As he disappeared downstairs, Beau picked Frumpkin up and looked him in his very wide, too-smart blue eyes. "I think Deuce was lying." 

Frumpkin just meowed, then started purring and reached out to press his forehead against Beau's face, his delicate little nose sniffing her face. 

Yeah, Beau's friends were kind of the greatest. 


	10. Chapter Ten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Mighty Nein start towards Rexxentrum, but things are rarely ever as easy as we hope...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just spent 10 minutes writing out notes, realised it was for the wrong chapter and accidentally deleted it :) So I'm gonna start again :) :) :) 
> 
> What's up guys, long time no see :) I decided to come back to this fic after a couple of lovely comments reminding me that people are still interested in it. I would also like to plug (#notsponsored) the Beau the Betrayer fic because it's gotten me back into critrole fanfic, so if you're a Beau fan and want to read some good shit go find it!! It's gud!! 
> 
> Um so I wanted to write something less mushy and more action-y and I think I just took all of my anger problems out on a several hundred word violence spree :-) So this chapter is super fight-y heavy and stuff so if you're not into that, it's cool, let me know what you think because feedback and advice is gr8. Also I rolled for everything that happened here and got a ridiculous amount of nat 1s. I did keep a record of all the roles tho and it'll be in the bottom notes if you want to read it :) 
> 
> Ummmm I'm trying to remember if there's anything else. I don't think there is so I'll leave you to read oh actually wait I haven't edited it and I apologise but it's nearly midnight and I just want to get it up tonight :) But anyway, as always I hope you enjoy it, and have a lovely day :)

"Beau?"

"Hm?" 

"Are you ok?" Yasha pressed softly. 

They were laying in bed. Although the two of them had retired about half an hour earlier, neither of them had fallen asleep. They just lay there... thinking. Yasha's head raced with all the thoughts of Beau and the state she was in, and... and Zualla. She remembered Zualla's broken and bloodied body, not unlike how she remembered Beau's when they first found her. The similarity hurt her in a way she couldn't properly describe, and didn't want to think about.

"Yeah." Beau responded automatically, despite how queasy she felt, and how her body was wrapped in shivers, even though it wasn't cold.

"I'm not." Yasha said quietly. Beau slowly turned in Yasha's arms so they were facing each other. She could see Yasha's shape in the dark of their room, but nothing else. It was a little unnerving, knowing that Yasha could see her as clear as day.

"I'm worried about Dairon." Beau admitted. "She's strong but... I don't know if she's strong enough, you know?"

"We will do everything we can to help her," Yasha told her reassuringly, rubbing small circles into Beau's back. "Just like we did for you. I cannot promise you that she will be fine, but I can promise that we'll all do our best to help her." 

Beau nodded, burying her head in Yasha's shoulder. "You're literally the best, you know that?" 

Yasha felt a lump forming in her throat. "I don't know about that." 

"And super fuckin' hot." Beau smiled against Yasha's pale skin. 

"Hm." Yasha said. "You should really get some sleep. We've got a lot of travelling to do tomorrow." 

"Yeah." Beau sighed heavily. "It's a long way to Rexxentrum." 

"Goodnight, Beauregard." 

"'Night Yasha." 

*** 

Caleb stayed up late that night. In fact, it wasn't until Fjord came down at six o'clock the next morning that the wizard was finally pulled away from his books. He looked up at the blurry outline of his friend with tired eyes, before turning back to his book. 

"Caleb, have you been here all night?" Fjord asked, sounding a little exasperated. 

"Ja, I've been researching." Caleb said, closing his book and looking up at Fjord with something akin to excitement. "I have been looking into my old notes, and the current high mages at the Cerberus Assembly. I figured if we were to start anywhere, it would be with whomever Dairon was researching. I believe I've narrowed the list down to three who could potentially be crooked." 

"Caleb, you need to sleep." Fjord sighed, sitting down opposite him. "I'm sure Beau'll appreciate you doin' this for her, but that won't mean a damn thing if you're too dead on your feet to help. We need you." 

"Ja. I'll get some sleep now before we leave. We agreed to leave at midday, so I should be able to get adequate sleep before we leave." 

"Hm." Fjord said suspiciously, narrowing his yellow eyes. "Make sure you do." 

As Caleb slowly ascended the Inn's stairs to his and Nott's room, he thought over his findings. There were three major Cerberus Assembly Archmages that he believed could be the target of Dairon's research; Calliste Armine, a powerful Dwarven woman reputed for her sternness; Whitlock Equo, an obnoxious human, with significant conflict with the Empire; and Archmage Trent Ikithon, whom... needed no introduction. Caleb knew exactly why Dairon might've been looking into him. It wasn't something he wanted to dwell on particularly. 

As he approached his door, he hesitated at the sound of a soft sobbing coming from a room across the hall. He hesitated, a frown creasing his brow. He should just go to bed. It wasn't his business. 

Yet, he still found himself knocking quietly on the door, half-hoping there would be no response. 

He heard the individual on the other side of the try to pull themself together, a few sniffs and a watery "one minute!". A moment later, Jester appeared at the door with red-rimmed eyes and a not-confident-enough smile on her face. 

"Jester?" Caleb asked cautiously. "Are you ok?" 

"Yeah, I'm great! Why wouldn't I be? It's not like I've even been crying or anything." 

"Oh, ja, of course not." he said. For a breath they stood in silence. "I really do think she will be ok. I really do." 

"Who?" Jester was still feigning innocence. 

"It's ok to still be worried about Beauregard, you know? We all are. She still has a lot of recovering to do." 

Jester's face twisted into a small, lopsided frown. "But what if she doesn't get better?" her tail gave a nervous flicker behind her. 

"She will." Caleb said, actually believing it himself. "She's very strong. And she has her family around her. It takes time with these things but she is making progress, and will continue to do so. You are being a great friend." 

Jester's face immediately broke into a grin that Caleb barely had time to register before his arms were full of energetic blue Tiefling. "You really think so? Because I was really worried that, like, I wasn't helping very much and I've been trying but I just don't know what to do and she just seems to want to spend all her time with Yasha, you know? Which is totally cool, I know they both like  _like_ each other and stuff but I think I should probably be doing more to help Beau out, like I think she's maybe been avoiding me and I just want to help and I'm so  _worried,_ Caleb!" 

She finally released her friend, who'd gone rigid at the contact, pulling away with wide eyes. 

"Ja, we all are, Jester. You are doing everything you can. If she needs anything else from you, I'm sure she will ask - you know Beauregard, she is not, eh, one for subtlety." 

Jester giggled a little, wiping away a couple of errant tears. "She's really not very subtle." she agreed. "Um... thank you for talking with me, Caleb. I wanted to talk to Fjord, but he's busy planning our trip to Rexxentrum. I don't want to like, pester him." 

Caleb managed a ghost of a smile. "You are never a pester, Jester. I'm sure he would not mind at all." 

Jester giggled again. "Anyway, thank you again and I'm gonna go get some breakfast now and you should probably get some sleep, you look  _real_ tired." 

"I will." Caleb said with a slight nod, heading towards his room. "Goodnight, Jester." 

"Technically, it's morning." 

***

When everyone was ready to go, they set out on the cart. Fjord and Caduceus were up front with the horses, leaving the rest of them in the back of the cart. Caleb was reading a book, Beau was looking over his notes, Nott was messing with some chemicals, and Jester was drawing in her journal. Yasha sat stoically beside Beau, her eyes watching out the back of the cart as though she expected at any moment for them to be ambushed. It didn't escape the others' attention that over the course of a couple of hours, Beau had shuffled closer and closer to Yasha until their shoulders bumped together. 

It didn't escape Caleb's notice that Beau was struggling more and more to focus on the notes. Whenever he glanced up, he found her staring blankly at them, or rereading the same page multiple times, rubbing her eyes, and reading it again. Her face had gone paler than normal, and every time they hit a bump in the road, she flinched and curled into Yasha more. 

"Can we stop for a minute?" Caleb called after the fourth time it had happened. Beau glanced up, quickly arranging her face to hide any weakness. 

"We need to get there fast." she reminded him.

"Ja, I just need a bathroom break." 

Beau shifted a little as though uncomfortable, then threw up her hands as if to say,  _well, I guess we're doing what Caleb wants_. The cart slowly came to a stop, and Caleb got out and excused himself. Beau also got out, muttering something about needing to stretch her legs. 

"Would you like me to come with you?" Yasha asked immediately when Beau got up. 

"Nah, I just want a little bit of space." Beau said, and something like bitterness crossed her face. "Know me. Hate bein' cooped up." 

Caleb did his business then went over to where he'd seen Beau go. Everyone had gotten out of the cart, just to stretch out, but Beau had disappeared into the treeline. He wasn't walking for even a minute, before he heard some familiar grunts, finally coming up on Beau doing pull-ups on a thick tree branch. 

"Thirty-seven," she was huffing under her breath. "Thirty-eight. Thirty-nine. Forty. Forty... forty one." 

Caleb watched until she got to seventy, at which point she had to stop because she was physically unable to continue. "You should be careful." he said when she finally stopped. 

She turned to him, and if she was surprised he were there, she didn't show it. She wiped a hand over the back of her neck. "I am careful." 

"You're still healing." Caleb reminded her. Beau just rolled her eyes, pushing past him and back towards the cart. 

"I'm fine." 

They travelled for another seven hours before stopping to camp for the night. They'd made reasonable distance, and though Beau kept nagging them to keep going for another couple of hours, they finally managed to convince her that the horses needed rest. Caleb went about his usual nightly routine, putting up the dome and the silver thread, before sending Frumpkin on his patrol. After they'd eaten, they all retired in various stages; Caleb and Nott settled down fairly early, Jester and Fjord not long after. Caduceus and Yasha helped Beau eat some food - which she managed to keep down - before the three of the also headed to bed. 

Caleb was awoken at some point during the night by Frumpkin sending him a mental command:  _danger_. 

Caleb sat up, unable to see but for the shapes of people around him. He reached out blindly until he found Beau's shoulder - she started awake, her hands instantly going into fists. He intended to use Frumpkin's senses to see what kind of danger there was, but was distracted as the tiny hut around him disappeared. He felt a swell of panic in his throat, and felt Beau immediately get to her feet beside him. 

He pulled out his spellbook and was ready for a battle, when his eyes caught serpentine ones. He was perhaps forty feet away, a snake-like creature with thick skin and a humanoid head hissed under its breath at him. He felt a surge of pain wash through his head and tried to fight the pulsing behind his eyes. And then... it stopped and he looked up and the Naga was his friend. 

"Help usssss," a voice in his head said softly. "Help usss desstroy them and you will be rewarded." 

The naga was right. What was the Mighty Nein worth to him? Nothing. The Naga and its companions - another Naga and a Glabrezu, the voice helpfully provided - were offering him everything. He started moving away from the group and Beauregard didn't even try to stop him, still half-asleep and focusing her eyes on the nagas. When he was far enough away, he started the familiar routine of casting a Fireball spell. Beauregard half-turned, eyes going wide a second too late and not having time to respond as he obliterated all of them.

As the flames smoldered and began to die down, he felt a bubble of frustration, seeing a familiar figure a couple of feet out of the radius; Beauregard, patting down her pants. She seemed entirely unharmed by the fire. She took a step towards him but paused, a hand going to clutch her head. However, she shrugged it off with a snarl, still moving towards him. 

 _She won't listen to usssss,_ the voice spoke to Caleb again.  _Sssssstop her._

"I know this isn't you," Beau said bitterly as she got to Caleb. "I'm sorry." 

And with that, she launched her attacks. The first strike didn't hurt as much as Caleb expected; it was a straight-finger strike under his throat. His breath caught and he half-choked, almost stumbling but his body was locked in place and all he could see was stars. 

_She's trying to stop ussssss._

Another strike, this one to his chest. He felt the wind knocked out of him, and a pulsing in his head. How could Beauregard be doing this to him? Why was she hurting him? Was it because he'd left her behind in the Azmarin?

_Don't let her hurt you._

The third strike hit Caleb straight in the temple, and his vision went white for a moment. All he could hear was a ringing noise, but when it started to fade and he came back to himself, he found himself back to his senses. The naga had charmed him, he realised. Beau had literally beaten the charm out of him. He couldn't think beyond that because his eyesight was still fuzzy and he couldn't quite seem to move. 

"Fuckin' wake up!" Beau screamed, though it wasn't clear if she were shouting at Caleb or the rest of the Mighty Nein. 

He noticed a creature coming up behind Beau - a strange, hulking muscled figure with two arms, two claws and red skin. It was almost lobster-like, but bigger and far more terrifying. As it came up behind Beau, Caleb wanted to warn her, but his throat still wasn't working and Gods his head  _would not stop fucking buzzing_.

He could do nothing but watch as the first of the creature's pincers snapped around Beau's torso, gripping her tightly. He saw blood dripping down the creature's claw, but it didn't hesitate to make another attack with its second pincer, still holding Beau in the first. Beau just managed to squirm enough in its grip that it missed, and so it angrily made a strike at her with each fist. One connected with Beau's ribs, but the other she managed to parry away with her own fist. She was still held in the creature's grip, snarling at it despite the wounds she'd sustained. With a delighted click of its tongue, the Glabrezu started moving away from the stunned Caleb, gripping Beau as its prize. Caleb tried and tried and pushed at the stun but he couldn't move - Beau was good at what she did. 

There was a screech and a crossbow bolt flew through the air, pinging harmlessly off of the Glabrezu's thick hide. Another followed shortly after, this one burying itself in a soft patch of flesh beneath a pincer. The creature roared and hissed, and Caleb heard a distinctive "Shit, shit, shit!".

Three bolts of Eldritch energy shot towards the Glabrezu holding Beau, and Fjord's angry shout of, "Leave her the fuck alone!" could be heard from afar. Two slammed into the creature, but the third flew off afar. The Glabrezu snarled, turning towards Fjord and clicking its pincers. It was immediately distracted by a giant teal lollipop appearing directly above its head and slamming towards the ground. It jumped out of the way just in time, and the lollipop narrowly missed Beau as it hit the mud. However, the lollipop was a distraction enough that when the sound of a thunderous bell began ringing through the trees, the creature screeched loudly, blood starting to come out of what might've been its eyes. 

Caduceus got up to his feet, out of the ruin of their campsite, and quickly said a prayer to the wildmother, closing his eyes and casting Bane on the Glabrezu, and both the Spirit Nagas that he could see, about twenty feet away. However, having just been roused from his sleep being burned alive, his spell wasn't as potent as he'd hoped and all three creatures merely shook it off, turning their attention to him. As one turned to him, it began hissing under its breath and thick, black oily lines started raising from the ground. They destroyed all of the plantlife they came into contact with, until the tendrils wrapped around Caduceus, squeezing the air from him and filling his eyes briefly with pitch blackness. Caduceus yelped in pain, doubling over, even as the Blight spell started to recede. 

He didn't like that. Not at all. 

The Naga's attention was turned to a roar as Yasha jumped to her feet, her eyes quickly combing the battlefield, searching... as her gaze fell on Beau, bleeding in the Glabrezu's pincer, a feral sound escaped her throat and she bounded towards it, her vision tunnelling. She drew the Magician's Judge as she ran, going in for a reckless attack on the beast.  She sliced liberally through the tough muscle on its chest, and when it reared back in pain, she drove her sword into its side. The creature snarled and chittered, its eyes wild as it surveyed the battle. It screeched to one of the nagas, which swept forward and began hissing at Yasha, chittering and snarling at her. Yasha felt the familiar weight of another creature's willpower invading her mind but could do nothing but succumb to the voice. 

_We will protect her. We will look after her. Stay on our side and we won't let them hurt her._

Yasha half-turned towards the rest of the Nein. The naga was right. She wouldn't let them hurt Beau. 

Beau, not seeing Yasha's predicament, threw punch after punch at the Glabrezu gripping her. She unleashed four punches on it, all but one hitting, though try as she might, she couldn't seem to stun the thing. She just didn't know enough about its anatomy. 

The Glabrezu, bleeding and weak, seemed to have enough of Beau hitting it. With a snarl, it unleashed a powerful spell that seized a hold on Beau's muscles and she found herself locking up, unable to move, bleeding in its grasp. She felt a surge of panic because the last time she hadn't been able to move like this - she would've screamed if she could as the pincers holding her dug in even further, piercing her ribs and tearing a whole in a lung. Before she could recover, the other pincer came over and snapped around a shoulder, tearing a thick rip in the skin. 

Yasha turned at the sound of breaking bones, seeing the creature that was holding Beau snapping down on her. A frown creased her brow as the creature began to move away, and she started to raise her sword.

 _Stop!_ the voice in her head hissed.  _She is interfering. This is for her own good. We have young to feed - we will put her to good use._

Yasha slowly lowered her sword, watching the creature move away. Beau would die sooner or later, it was better that she died for a purpose. Everyone had young to feed. Beau would understand. 

Caleb felt sluggish as his muscles slowly moved back into attack. He stared in horror as the Glabrezu cast some kind of spell (far more powerful than anything he was capable) on Beau, before breaking into her body with its pincers. She was still conscious, limp in its grip, but the blood covering her clothes made his stomach turn in concern. There was little he could do to the creature without hurting Beau. With a huff of concern, anger, and fear, he pulled the adder's stomach from his components pouch, drawing it back like a bowstring and firing off an acid arrow. The green arrow struck the creature in one of its trunk-like legs with a burst of acid, and it snarled and screeched angrily. It was looking pretty worse for wear, but it didn't lessen its grip on Beau. 

Nott, hiding behind one of the trees, watched Caleb's arrow in awe as it flew through the clearing, just missing the creature but still splashing it with acid. She gripped the Tinkertop Boltblaster 1000 with shaking fingers and aimed at the Glabrezu, trying to find the perfect angle to hit it without risking hurting Beau. She took a deep, steadying breath - fighting the urge to run and hide - waited for the creature to shift so she got a good angle, and fired. The bolt whistled through the air, piercing through the creature's head. There was a loud snarl and a screech and the Glabrezu took two steps backwards, raising Beau's still form as though using it as a human shield. However, it was too late and the bolt sticking out of the creature's head slowly killed it; it dropped to its knees, chittering stubbornly before collapsing forward, its pincers finally releasing Beau onto the grass. 

All the eyes of the battlefield turned towards Nott. "Shit!" she screeched, ducking behind another tree, pulling up her hood and attempting to hide. 

Fjord glanced towards Jester "Help Beau!" he shouted, charging towards one of the nagas with his Falchion drawn. He made two clean swipes, cutting into the creature easily. 

Meanwhile, Jester didn't need telling twice - she ran over towards her prone, still friend, trying to ignore the panic clawing up her throat. 

"No, no, no, no, no." she said as she approached Beau and rolled her over onto her back. Beau's eyes were wide with pain and fear, and her torso was covered in blood. Each breath seemed to gurgle in her throat and she winced as Jester rested a hand on her good shoulder. "Traveller," Jester said softly, fighting back tears. "Please... please, please, please help her." Healing magic flowed into Beau's body, and the wounds quickly started closing, the skin drawing together as though it had been stitched. However, Beau remained motionless, the panic still evident in her eyes. 

Jester had seen Beau stun enough enemies before to realise that now she was reaping what she sowed. 

Caduceus' eyes were on Beau on the floor, clearly coming to the same conclusion that Jester had about Beau's stun. "There's nothing... I can't..." he glanced at her then over to Yasha, with her sword at the ready. He gave her a nod, preparing his ability to allow her to do more damage to the next naga Yasha hit. 

The naga that Fjord had just hit now turned to bite into his shoulder. He managed to shrug off most of the blow but still felt some of its venom slip into his bloodstream. He swayed momentarily in place but managed to hold his ground. 

 _The babies need feed_ , Yasha heard as she turned towards where Beau and Jester were on the ground.  _The stringy one will be a great appetiser. With your help, they can grow big and strong. But first, stop the blue one. She wants our children to starve._

With a snarl of rage, Yasha ran over to Jester and Beau because the babies needed food and Jester was trying to starve them with her stupid fucking healing magic. As she approached, she made her next two attacks recklessly as before -  _the children can't starve -_ bringing her sword down towards Jester. The tiefling looked up, a brief flash of horror cutting across her face, and she just managed to dodge out of the way of the strike. No matter, Yasha would keep trying because Jester would make a great meal for the little ones. This swipe embedded itself a quarter of an inch into the Cleric's clavicle, and Jester let out a scream of fury, ice shards shattering around the sound. Yasha snarled, dodging out of the way of the worst of it, but still getting some of the ice shards embedded in her skin. 

The Naga that had her enthralled chuckled a deep, hissing sound and turned its attention to those it could see; it had a choice between Beau, Jester and Caduceus. Nott was hidden, and Fjord and Caleb were too far away from it. Actually... the creature hissed a laugh as it realised that the puny red-head human, the paralysed human, and the tiefling were all in pretty much a straight line. The big one also was, but that was a risk it was going to take. It got into position, drawing back its head, and throwing forward a 100ft line of lightning that struck all four of them. 

Jester and Caleb luckily both managed to move enough to avoid the brunt of the damage, but Yasha didn't seem to care for the damage, and Beau couldn't move. They both took the full impact of the lightning, and the smell of singed hair and burnt skin hung heavily in the air. As the burning sensation seared across Beau's flesh, she tried to push herself to move, to get up,  _to fight back_.

Anything. 

But she was helpless. Helpless to watch as the nagas and Yasha - fuck, they took her Yasha - tore up the party. 

Caleb patted down his patchy coat with wide eyes. "Shiesse." he muttered to himself, staring down the naga that that just lightning bolted half the party. Snakes that could cast spells? Not good. The first thing he did was move so that he was no longer in a neat line with the others. A huff under his breath and he pulled his liquorice root out of his component pouch, chewing on it as he said an incantation and pointed at Fjord. "Go get them, big man!" he said encouragingly, stepping just a little further away from the giant snake. 

Nott poked her head around her tree just as the naga finished the bolt of lightning that streaked through four of her friends. Preoccupied with them, it didn't see her raise her crossbow to fire. The first bolt pinged harmlessly off its hide and Nott cursed, raising her crossbow to fire a second time - this one struck true, sinking an inch or so into the snake's thick hide. It turned towards her, hissing angrily, and she just ran, knowing she wouldn't be able to hide from it. 

On the other side of the battlefield, Fjord felt an unfamiliar rush of adrenaline course through his system. He snarled up at the Naga leering over him, drawing his Falchion and making two quick swipes at it. Both strikes gleaned off the snake's armoured hide and Fjord felt anger building inside him. With the speed of Caleb's spell, he turned and cast a spell at the other naga, the one harrowing his friends. There was a whisper and Fjord felt as though someone had pressed something cold to the back of his neck, then tentacle burst out of the ground beneath the naga in a twenty foot radius. The area midnight black and the naga disappeared, but Fjord took comfort in knowing that it was blind. 

Jester saw the tentacles burst out of the ground and looked briefly up at Fjord before gripping her holy symbol to the traveller. "I've had enough of these butthole snakes!" she shouted, casting a familiar spell that she didn't use nearly often enough. She closed her eyes and thought hard about dragons and soon enough, her limbs started to grow and extend, and she could feel wings protrude from her back. She snarled and icy frost coated the air. As she opened her eyes and looked down at her new talons, she was quietly pleased with the look of awe from her friends. She stood over Beau's still and prone form, snarling a mist of cold air and daring anyone to try to hurt her friend. 

Caduceus watched all of this unfold, mildly impressed as his friend turned into a young blue dragon before his very eyes. He prayed silently to the wildmother, holding out his staff, and watched as most of his friends - except Jester, the dragon doesn't need more health, he decided - healed a small amount from his wounds. It wasn't much, but it would hopefully keep everyone from death's door. 

The naga in front of Fjord snarled down at him as it watched some of his wounds close up. It turned, however, seeing the huge dragon dominating the centre of the forest, having even flattened down a couple of trees. It drew back with a big huff, its body starting to pulse with sickly black veins that went through the ground and wrapped around the dragon's legs. It crawled up her body, wrapping around the dragon form and squeezing until Jester couldn't keep a hold of the spell anymore, slowly reverting back to her natural tiefling self. The naga turned back towards Fjord with a sly sort of smirk, clearly pleased with its work. 

Yasha glanced back at the naga in Fjord's demon-storm and then back towards Jester and Beau, who she was closest to. Jester needed to go before she transformed into another dragon, or kept healing Beau or... she was standing between Yasha and keeping the children fed. Yasha wouldn't have it. She drew back her sword and thrust it into Jester's stomach, ignoring the sickening slick of blood that now lined her sword. She saw Beau's eyes widen fractionally in terror, before she drew out the sword and - closing her eyes - plunged it into Beau's chest, pining her to the ground. 

It's for the children, she told herself as they both slumped unconscious on the ground and her blade dripped with their blood. The children were going to get so big and so strong. 

Speaking of, the naga that had commissioned her to feed its young came barrelling out of Fjord's tentacle patch. The area was slick and difficult to move in, and the naga used a lot of its time and effort to get out. As it arrived on the other side, it eyed the battlefield, before narrowing its gaze at Fjord. Yasha heard a gasp and stared incredulously as Beau's eyes flashed open, sweat dripping down her face and her pallor lighter than usual. She still seemed unable to move, but despite the sword Yasha had put in her chest, she was awake and aware. 

Caleb watched Yasha obliterate Beau and Jester and felt panic beginning to claw its way up his throat. "Sorry, mein freund." he muttered under his breath, once again pulling out the bat guano, only this time on purpose. He threw a fireball at Yasha and the naga, careful to avoid hitting Beau or Jester. Yasha managed to dodge most of the blow, but as she looked down to put some fire out on her pants, she seemed to see Beau for the first time. Her eyes combed briefly over Beau - and then Jester, who was unconscious on the ground, and a look of horror swept across her features. Then, a snarl upturned her lip as she turned toward the Naga. 

Nott, seeming to realise that Yasha was more or less herself again, hid behind a tree, then poked around and fired another crossbow bolt at the same naga. The bolt embedded itself in the monster's hide and Nott quickly scampered off again. As that happened, Fjord stared down the creature facing him. 

"I've had about enough of you," he said, drawing his Falchion back and summoning the power of U'kotoa. "Shoulda done this earlier!" he shouted as he hexed the creature. It hissed at him as a spectral tentacle seemed to rise out of the ground and wrap around it. Then, he made his strikes. However, he just couldn't seem to hit the creature. He felt anger welling inside him, and drew back his hand, full of Eldritch energy. He threw a witch bolt at the naga harassing Yasha, hitting it square in the face and melting off half of the skin there. It turned towards him with green-ish blood oozing out of one eye and he just snarled at it. 

Caduceus ran over to Jester, immediately pouring healing magic into her still form. Her eyes flashed open tiredly, a small smile slipping onto her face. "I had the greatest dream Dueces'..." 

The naga in front of Fjord looked around, seizing a good opportunity. 

"No, no, no, don't!" Fjord shouted useless as it lined up to lightning bolt Caduceus, Jester, Beau and Yasha. He sliced at it as it moved away, but it didn't seem to care much for the thick cut he opened in its hide. It drew back, ready to spit the lightning - Fjord could see Jester trying to cover Beau with her body, though it wouldn't make a difference - when Caleb reached out with a hand and muttered a counterspell. The naga's eyes turned furious as the spell fizzled and dissipated, and it looked towards Caleb with a hiss and a snarl. 

While that one was distracted, Yasha elected to make her attacks on the one that had previously had her charmed. She was pretty bloodied and beaten up herself but still she attacked recklessly because this fucking thing had made her hurt her friends, and she was going to damn well end it. And end it she did; with one large sweep, she cut the beast easily in two, leaving two severed stumps to fall to the ground. Venom slipped out of the creature's now useless head and blood coated Yasha's boots. She snarled down at the creature then turned towards the other one, barely daring to glance down at Beau's prone form as she did so. 

"Old faithful." Caleb muttered under his breath as he pulled out more bat guano and aimed a fireball at the last remaining enemy. He aimed it perfectly so as not to get Fjord in range of the spell. He didn't even check to see how much damage the spell did before he was back off, terrified of having the creature's gaze on him. He saw a bolt fly out of nowhere and streak past him towards the creature, heard its wail of agony, but didn't turn to look. 

Fjord, meanwhile, went right on up to it again and made three swipes, this time, with his falchion. Only one hit, and he cursed his bad luck once more. 

 _Watching_ , a voice whispered softly in the back of his head.  _Punish_.

Jester put a hand on Beau's chest, ignoring the blood instantly soaking her fingers. "We need to get rid of this giant snake before it makes anybody else its bitch," she said. "We'll figure this out though don't even worry -" 

_BONG!!_

The naga shook its head angrily as the necrotic bell tore the blood vessels in its eyes. When the sound faded, Jester was still talking " - something Deuces can do." 

As though hearing his name (which was impossible over the sound of the bell), Caduceus raised his staff and healed the everyone bar Caleb (who was out of range) a little. Beau's face flushed with a little more colour, though she was still unable to move. 

The naga, seeming infuriated that Caduceus had healed them once more, started towards the huddle of people around Beau. Fjord swiped at it as it left, taking a sizeable chunk out of its hind, but it ignored him. It was dead set on its prize: Beau, laying weak and unmoving on the ground. As it got close enough to her, it drew back its fangs and bit into her shoulder, clavicle and chest. Jester watched in horror as Beau's eyes rolled up and then became still, a final breath escaping her. Then, in a flurry, the naga wrapped Beau up in its coils and then started heading away into the forest. Jester cut into it with her handaxe as it tried to move away but it did nothing to stop it from hurrying away. 

With a roar of fear and frustration, Yasha tore after it, blood dripping down her face from her own wounds as she reached it. She grabbed its tail, drawing it back to her, her eyes briefly falling to the very fucking still and unmoving body of Beau wrapped up in its coils. Then, threw her blade onto the ground, climbing up the serpentine body and gripping its head. She grabbed its lower jaw with one hand and its upper jaw with the other.

"When you go to hell," she said coldly to it, a snarl in her throat. "Tell the little ones I said hi." 

With that, she ripped backwards with all her strength and anger, tearing the creature in two down the middle. It wasn't an easy task, but Yasha relished the blood that coated her hands as she tore its jaw in two, a feral sound building in the back of her throat until she was screaming and screaming at it and then she was holding Beauregard's lifeless body, and there were tears on her face and why was this happening  _again_?! 

Everyone was gathering around and talking about diamonds and spells but all Yasha could think was that she had done this. She had caused this. 

And so she blocked out the others and just cradled the lifeless body of her monk. 

 

 

 

**All Rolls Are Here If You're Interested :-)**

Caleb's save against the dominate person - natural 1 :-)

Beau's save against Caleb's fireball - natural 13 (total 22) (no damage - Evasion)

Nobody else got saving throws against Caleb's fireball as they were all still asleep. They took 23 points of fire damage each. 

Beau's save against the dominate person - natural 18 (total 21) - SAVES

Beau's first attack (unarmed) - natural 9 (total 18) (11 bludgeoning damage) - Stunning strike Caleb's con ST natural 10 (total 12) - Caleb's ST for the dominate person natural 4 (total doesn't matter it's not gonna be fkn +10)

Beau's second attack (unarmed) (advantage) - natural 11 (total 20) (7 bludgeoning damage)- Caleb's ST for DP natural 6 (total 13)

Beau's offhand attack (unarmed) (advantage) - natural 7 (total 16) (10 bludgeoning damage)- Caleb's ST for DP natural 14 (total 21) - SAVES

Glabrezu Pincer #1 - natural 15 (total 24) (16 bludgeoning damage) - Beau is grappled

Pincer #2 - natural 10 (total 19) - MISS

Fist #1 - natural 17 (total 26) (8 bludgeoning damage)

Fist #2 - natural 6 (total 15) - MISS

Nott first attack - natural 5 (total 14) - MISS

Nott's second attack - natural 11 (total 20)  (25 piercing damage)

Eldritch Blaaaaaaast #1 - natural 12 (total 21) (9 force damage) -

#2 natural 9 (total 18) (14 force damage)

#3 natural 6 (total 15) - MISS 

Jester's Spiritual Weapon - natural 2 (total 11) - MISS 

Jester's Toll the Dead - Wis ST w advantage natural 1 (total 8) and natural 1 (total 8) (19 necrotic damage) - FAIL 

Caduceus' Bane - Glabrezu ST w advantage natural 6, natural 16 (total 23) - SAVE 

Caduceus' Bane - Naga #1 ST natural 14 (total 20) - SAVE

Caduceus' Bane- Naga #2 ST natural 20 (total 26) - SAVE 

Caduceus' Saving Throw against Blight - natural 9 (total 11) (32 necro damagae) - FAIL

Yasha's attack #1 (reckless) (raging) - natural 17, natural 15 (total 24) (23 slashing damage) 

Yasha's attack #2 (reckless) (raging) - natural 5, natural 17 (total 24) (23 slashing damage) (ouch my poor monster)

Naga #2 Dominate Person on Yasha (advantage)- ST natural 13, natural 11 (total 12) - Fanatical Focus (reroll) 5, natural 12 (total 11)

Beau's first attack (unarmed) - natural 14 (total 23) (11 bludgeoning damage) - Stunning strike (Con ST - natural 15 (total 24))

Beau's second attack (unarmed) - natural 4 (total 13)- MISS

Beau's offhand attack (unarmed) - natural 14 (total 23) (8 bludgeoning damage) - Stunning strike (Con ST - natural 19 (total 28))

Flurry of Beau's, offhand attack 2 - natural 9 (total 18) (11 bludgeoning damage)

Glabrezu - Power Word Stun on Beau (no Saving Throw, less than 150 HP, stunned)

Glabrezu Pincer #1 (advantage) - natural 13, natural 13 (total 21) (20 bludgeoning damage)

Pincer #2 (advantage) - natural 1, natural 19 (total 28) (20 bludgeoning damage) (ouch!!)

Caleb's Acid Arrow (disadvantage [as a human, Caleb can't see the creature properly, it's still nightfall) - natural 14, natural 3 (total 12) (6 acid damage) - MISS 

Nott's crossbow Bolt - natural 17 (total 27) (22 piercing damage) HDYWTDT

Nott's stealth check - natural 19 (total 32) (FUCK OFF, ROGUES MAN!!!)

Fjord's Falchion #1 - natural 17 (total 25) (13 dam)

Fjord's Falchion #2 - natural 2 (total 10) - MISS 

Jester's Cure Wounds (level 5) - (36 HP)

Yasha's attack #1 (reckless) (raging) - natural 3, natural 1 (total 10) - MISS 

Yasha's attack #2 (reckless) (raging) - natural 14, natural 17 (total 24) (28 slashing damage) (ouch my poor Jester)

Jester's Hellish Rebuke - Yasha's Dex ST (advtange; danger sense) natural 19, natural 7 (total 21) - SAVE - half damage (8) 

Yasha's ST against Dominate person - natural 10 (total 9) - FAIL

Naga's Lightning Bolt: (I'm 'bout to roll damage and they're respectively on 48, 23, 70 and 29 health pray for them) (32 lightning dam)

 *Beau - autofail (paralysed) - full damage (32)

 *Jester - natural 20 (half damage) (16)

 *Yasha - (advantage, danger sense) natural 10, natural 8 (total 12) - FAIL (32) - ST against dominate person (ad because the naga attacked her) natural 3, natural 14 (total 13) (FUCK OFF DUDE SO CLOSE) 

 *Caleb - natural 13 (total 15) - SAVE (half Damage) (16)

Beau's Power Word Stun ST - natural 1 :-)

Nott first attack (advantage - hidden) - natural 5, natural 4 (total 14) - MISS

Nott's second attack - natural 16 (total 25)  (26 piercing damage)

Fjord's Falchion #1 - natural 7 (total 15) - MISS 

Fjord's Falchion #2 - natural 7 (total 15) - MISS 

Naga #1 Blight on Jester the Dragon - natural 13 (total 21) - SAVE - half dam (15)

Jester's concentration for Polymorph - natural 1 (total 3) - bye bye dragon :-(

Yasha's attack Jester #1 (reckless) (raging) - natural 11, natural 14 (total 21) (I'm not going to roll damage because Jester has 7 HP and I don't think Yasha can do less than 7)

Yasha's attack Beau #2 (reckless) (raging) - (ME: oh man I haven't rolled any nat 20s in a while...) natural 20, natural 20 (total 27) (31 damage) (dat Barbarian CRIT tho) (Beau had 30HP just so y'all are aware)

Naga #2 Hungar of Hadar - 10 dam

Beau death save #1 - natural twenty holy shit wtf I'm not Bullshitting here, I rolled three nat 20s in about 1 minute. *Ahem* Beau's back on 1 HP.

Beau's ST against the power word stun - natural 4, (total 7) 

Yasha's ST against Caleb's fireball (advantage, danger sense) - natural 13, natural 13 (total 15) - FAIL (33 fire damage) - ST against Dom Person - natural 15 (total 14) SAVES SAVES SAVES SAVES SAVES 

Naga ST against Caleb's fireball - natural 18 (total 24) - SUCCESS (17 fire dam)

Nott stealth check (advantage, cloak) - natural 3, natural 2 (total 16) (Naga passive perception 12, doesn't see her)

Nott's crossbow attack (advantage, hidden) - natural 1, natural 16 (total 26) (29 damage ouch my poor monster)

Fjord's Falchion #1 - natural 9 (total 17) - MISS 

Fjord's Falchion #2 - natural 3 (total 11) - MISS 

Fjord's Witch Bolt - natural 9 (total 18) (33 lightning damage)

Jester's death save - 19 (success)

Caduceus' Cure Wounds (lvl 4) - (Circle of mortality) - 41 HP restored. 

Fjord's Attack of Opportunity - natural 12 (total 20) (14 damage)

Caleb's Counterspell (DC 15) - natural 19 (total 24) - SUCCESS

Yasha's attack #1 (reckless) (raging) - natural 7, natural 16 (total 23) (26 slashing damage) - :( She killed my monster

Beau's ST against power word stun - natural 3 wot is this bullshit who put the monk out of fkn commission. 

Naga fireball ST - natural 20 (figures *eyeroll*) (16 fire dam)

Nott's stealth - natural 7 (total 20) - she hided

Nott's crossbow (advantage bc she's hidden) - natural 11, natural 18 (total 28) (39 damage)

Fjord's Falchion #1 - natural 14 (total 22) (12 damage)

Fjord's Falchion #2 - natural 4 (total 12) - MISS 

Fjord's Falchion #3 (Hasted Action) - natural 2 (total 10) - MISS 

Naga Toll the Dead ST - natural 2 (total 8) (13 necrotic dam) - FAIL 

Fjord's Attack of opportunity - natural 19 (ayyy that's a crit bc of hexblade curse or w/e) (11 damage)

Naga bite on Beau - autocrit bc she's paralysed and its within 5ft - Beau's Con ST is natural 3 (total 6) :/ Initial damage (8) Poison dam ( 82 eeeeeeesh)

Unless I'm mistaken ... total 90 dam, Beau is on 9 Hp, her max HP is 76. 76+9=85. The damage she took is higher than her max so...........

Jester's attack of opportunity - natural 19 (hits, let's just say it hits ok I'm very tired its 11:15 PM alright) (6 damage)

Yasha's attack #1 (reckless) (raging) - natural 9, natural 14 (it hits ok). I'm not going to work out damage because it's 3d6 + 6 minimum and it has twelve HP left........ ok im tired and its dead, kool?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading you guys! It's been a while and I've got a lot lot going on (especially with my health at the moment) but I'd love to come to this properly if you guys are interested in it and still want to read it?? I have some new ideas on a direction I'd like to take it in. So feedback is really appreciated rn 'cause like I said, I have a lot going on and I would really love to continue this fic, but predominantly if other people want me to continue it. 
> 
> That being said, thank you for reading as always, you're all very beautiful/handsome/pretty and awesome people :) I hope y'all have a wonderful day/evening, and remember to stay kind to one another. 
> 
> Until next time,   
> Stay Nerdy :) 
> 
> Avery :-) <3


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyo so this one is a bit short and I wanted to take a little off of all the Beau/Yasha fluff before I die of the cuteness and it's time for some Caleb & Beau sibling bonding :) The more I think about it, the more they remind me of Sam and Casey from Atypical (especially with the common headcannon that Caleb is Autistic) and honestly they just have such a wonderful friendship so, have a little bit of that :-) 
> 
> As a warning (TW) this chapter contains heavily implied sexual content, though nothing is explicitly shown. 
> 
> Um, so, yeh :) I hope y'all enjoy it, and feedback is always appreciated!! :)

It was raining as Beauregard's shoes slapped through the muddy streets. She was crying, the tears mingling with the rain. She stopped outside the local tavern, wiping her eyes furiously and forcing her breathing to even. Forcing herself to calm down. Forcing a smile onto her face. 

She pushed open the door to the bright lights and merry music and chattering crowds. A few people glanced at her as she entered, muttering to one another, before carrying on. Beauregard went up to the bar, sitting at one of the stools. "Ale." she said brusquely to the barkeep. He raised an eyebrow, but didn't ask any questions when gold was being slid across the bar. A moment later, a tankard was placed in front of her, and she promptly drained a third of it. 

"That's a real big drink for such a small girl." a deep voice said beside her. She glanced around to see an Elven man with blonde hair cropped short, and a quirked eyebrow.

"That's a real big nose for someone so proportionate." 

"Ah, she comes with banter," he smiled genuinely at her. "I like a girl who can take a joke. Tell me, missy, do you parents know that sneak off to pubs in the middle of the night?" 

"Fuck off." Beau said brashly, putting on a facade of confidence she didn't really feel. The man didn't seem phased by her abruptness, in fact breaking into a sly smirk. 

"You've got a really brash personality, nice 'n fierce, right?" he leaned uncomfortably close to Beauregard, and she could smell the alcohol on his breath. "I'd put five gold on you being a bratty bottom." 

Beau shoved him away and he fell off his stool. "Fuckin' asshole, learn to read signs." 

The elf got up, his face tinged pink slightly as the eyes on the tavern were on them. A frown crested his face as his masculine pride was shredded. He grabbed hold of Beau's arm. "I know you want it."

"I'm sure she doesn't." a stern voice said from behind Beauregard. She half-turned to see a halfling woman, perhaps a couple years older than herself, with messy, short dark hair and a stern look on her face. Her skin was flawless and Beauregard found herself entranced by her. She was wearing armour, a sword hanging at her belt - Beau's father would have a heart attack if his  _only daughter_ rocked up in that - and had multiple piercings all over her face. "Now, howabout you scram before I run you through?" 

The elf looked between Beauregard and the halfling woman briefly, before hissing something under his breath in Elvish and storming out of the Tavern. The halfling woman sat on the stool he'd recently vacated. 

"Gita." the woman said, only half turning to Beauregard as she said it, flagging down the barkeep. 

"Beauregard." 

"No shit?" Gita said. "You the Lionette's kid?" 

Beauregard jutted out her chin. "What if I am?" 

"Don't like the folks, eh?" Gita smirked. "'Tween me 'n you, me neither. Listen," she leaned in a little. "Your parents' wine is worth good money. You wanna piss them off... well, I'm sure I could figure something out." 

"You mean like nicking it and sellin' it on?" Beauregard clarified. 

"If you're gonna be blunt 'bout it, yeah. Exac'ly that." Gita finally turned, giving Beau her full attention. "You've got a lot of fire in you. Don't let nobody try 'n control that." 

Beau felt her heart in her throat as her eyes fell on Gita's lips, which were cracked and rough, presumably from days on the road. "You got fire in you?" she asked before she could wimp out, feeling her heart hammering in her chest. 

"More than I reckon you could handle." Gita said playfully, putting her drink to her lips and tipping it back. Beauregard was impressed by how much she managed to down in one go. Not one to be outdone, she raised her own tankard to her lips and threw back the last two thirds of it. By the time she got to the bottom of the tankard, she was a little queasy but ignored it. A loud belch escaped her and she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. 

"I've been known to surprise." she said coolly with a confidence that she hoped seemed honest. 

Gita smirked, reaching forward and resting a hand on Beauregard's thigh. She felt the warmth of it through her pants, felt the implications of it, and her heart was racing. "I've a room here." Gita said, giving Beau plenty of space to move away if she wanted to. Beau felt a rush of adrenaline spread through her body and a new feeling - like excitement, but somehow... more - pooling in her stomach. 

"Lead the way." 

Gita reached out and took Beau's hand, leading her towards the stairs. Beau felt her heart in her throat and tried not to think about  _how angry her father would be_ or how beautiful this woman was, or the fact that she hadn't kissed another girl since she was nine and playing with a neighbourhood kid. 

The next morning, Beau awoke to an empty room. 

She was naked in the big bed with no one beside her. She sat up slowly, pushing aside the satisfaction that she had awoken to and looking around the room. There was no sign that Gita had ever been there - her clothes, her armour, her sword. They were all gone. The only thing that indicated someone had shared the room with Beau was a small scrap of parchment on the bedside table, reading  _thanks_ in messy handwriting. 

Beau crumpled the note in her hand, bit her lip and forced herself not to cry. 

She sat down on the edge of the bed, balling her hands into tight fists and allowing herself one moment of anger, of vulnerability. Then, she got up and started getting dressed. 

 _Your parents' wine is worth good money_ , Gita had said.  _I'm sure I could figure something out._

Beau didn't need Gita to figure something out. As she dressed, she forced herself to stop thinking about the rejection and hurt curling inside her belly like a serpent, instead planning how she could steal wine without her dad noticing. 

Gita was right about one thing; Beau wasn't going to let anyone control her anymore. 

*** 

_Years Later_

"When do you think she will wake up?" 

"Everyone responds to death differently. It might take some time." 

"But - but she's been asleep for like five whole days!" 

"Her body went through considerable trauma before death. It's really a testament to her strength that we managed to convince her soul to come back at all." 

"I wish I could go back and kill that fuckin' snake all over again."

"That won't help her now." 

" _Ja_ , we need to keep working on our plan. She wanted us to get Dairon out. I'm sure when she awakes she'll want to know what we've been doing." 

"Guys... how are we going to tell her that Yasha went away? She'll be  _so_ upset!" 

"Well, Jes, hopefully Yasha will come back before that. And if not, then, well... we'll just have to explain to her that the Stormlord called her away. She probably won't be real happy with that, but it's better than lyin' to her, I'd wager." 

"I think it's best we just give her some space right now. Her body is healing, but there's no telling what kind of mental and emotional trauma she's been through. Let's just give her some space and keep planning." 

"Alright, well, we gotta go to that potion store, and Jes, you need to start working on those forgeries..." 

"I'll stay with Miss Beau." 

"You need to sleep, Caduceus. I will stay with her." 

"Are you sure? What if she wakes up and freaks out and like hits you or something? I should stay too." 

"I'll be fine, Nott. You need to help the others." 

"Alright." 

"Ok." 

"See you later, Caleb." 

"Message me if anything goes wrong!" 

" _Ja,_ I will, don't worry..."

"I would really appreciate it if you could wake up, Beauregard. We're all a bit lost without you, you know? Jester's losing it. Fjord is trying to keep it together but he's not sleeping. Caduceus doesn't know what to do. Nott hasn't been sober since you fell. Yasha... Yasha was called away by the storm. And I, uh, I admit myself more than a little lost. I did not realise how heavily I relied on you. Whenever there is trouble... well, I go to reach for your shoulder and you are not there. Please, just... come back to us,  _ja_? We all need you." 

***

Yasha's eyes flashed open as the thunder cracked overhead. She was soaked to the bone, standing out in the field. Her eyes scanned the clouded sky, searching for any sign, any sort of indication of what she should be doing. A flash of lightning and she saw in that flash a familiar silhouette of a woman, tall like her, a soft smile on her face, dark hair flipped over one shoulder. 

"My love." the words whispered on the wind. "Zualla, please, forgive me." 

"Forgive yourself." 

Yasha wasn't sure if the words were real or if they were in her head. All that she could be certain of was the fact that she didn't. 

She didn't forgive herself, she could never forgive herself. Not for getting Zualla killed, not for running as her wife was being executed, not for betraying her by falling for Beauregard's lopsided smile and fierce eyes. She didn't know that she ever was. 

"Return." a voice whispered softly on the wind. "She needs you." 

Yasha half-turned back towards Rexxentrum, her heart hammering in her chest. A last flash of lightning cut through the sky, one last rumble of thunder, and then as quickly as the storm had started, it began to slow. Not five minutes later, there was no more than the soft pitter-patter of ever so gentle rain. Yasha looked up to the sky, and then back towards where her friends were, at least a two days' travel from here. 

"I'm coming, Beau." she said softly, the words carrying on the wind and disappearing. A huff built in her chest as she broke into a sprint, heading back to Rexxentrum, back to the Mighty Nein. 

Back to her monk. 

***

Beau awoke feeling shitty, but better than she had any right to be. 

It was like her body had needed a long rest to really recover from the effects the torture had left on her. Of course, she was never one to sit still for more than thirty minutes, so that hadn't happened. But now, when she woke up, thinking  _wait, was I just fuckin' dead?_ , she felt better than she had in a long time. Her head felt more organised and something in her body had clicked, reminding her of the first time she'd ever properly meditated. 

"Morning." she said lazily to the figure beside the bed. She expected to see Yasha's hunched form, but instead it was Caleb curled up in a chair, nearly dropping his book in surprise. 

"Beauregard." he said with two sharp blinks. "You are awake." 

"And you are a dumbass." she started sitting up, wincing at the soreness in her body; although there seemed to be no immediate injuries, she still felt achy. There was movement beside her as she accidentally disturbed the sleeping Frumpkin, who gave an indignant  _mrrp_ before stretching and finding a new position to sleep in. She traced her fingertips over the fur on his head, pleasantly surprised when he butted her hand eagerly. "How long was I out?"

"A few days," Caleb said hesitantly. He put his book down, sitting up a little straighter in the chair. "It was very, eh, touch and go for a while. We weren't sure if you were going to make it."

"Yeah?" 

"Yeah." Caleb looked down at the hands folded in his lap momentarily. "And even after we'd brought you back, you had a bad fever and we thought - well, it was close, let's say." 

"Oh." she said, thinking about it. "S'funny, fell better than I have in a while." 

"That is probably because you actually rested this time," Caleb said with the briefest hint of a smile. "You, uh... you were talking in your sleep, you know?" 

Beau wiped a bit of drool off her chin self-consciously. "Not usually a sleep talker." she said gruffly. "Say anything embarrassing?" 

" _Nein_ , just mentioned a girl's name, Gita. I do not mean to pry but was she, ah, important to you?" 

"Not really." Beau said, looking away from Caleb and ignoring the unresolved feeling that were still bubbling beneath the surface. She scratched Frumpkin under his chin - that spot that made him purr so loud you could feel the rumble in his chest - and decided to change the subject. "Where're the others?" 

"Making arrangements." Caleb said, thankfully letting the previous line of questioning drop. "We have some ideas on how to help Dairon." 

Beau turned to look at him immediately, eyes big and expectant. "What's the plan?" 

"Calm down," Caleb said, mildly alarmed by how alert she suddenly seemed. "We have a few days,  _ja_? There's an event happening. We'll fill you in more when you are more up to it, ok?" 

Beau tutted, throwing herself back on her pillows and disturbing Frumpkin again. This time, the cat let out a startled,  _mew!_ and darted off the bed, circling the legs of Caleb's chair. Beau threw an arm dramatically over her face. 

"Can I see Yasha?" 

There was a moment of silence. 

"Caleb? You still fuckin' here?" 

" _Ja,_ I just - I um-" 

Beau moved her arm and cracked her eyes open to peak at Caleb. His expression was one of discomfort and almost... concern? Fear? 

"She left?" 

Caleb nodded silently, shifting in his chair slightly in case Beau physically lashed out - which she was more than prone to doing. However, she just laid there staring at the ceiling, a slight frown harrying her brow. 

"Will... will you get Jester so I can send her a message and just check if she's ok?" 

"Uh... yes, I can do that." Caleb said, standing. Frumpkin, relieved, trotted for the door and waited to be let out. 

Beau was left alone briefly as Caleb left. The memories that had harassed her memories were random, sporadic, and she didn't know why her subconscious brain could be thinking about them. She shifted in the bed, trying to find a comfortable position for her aching body and trying to think of anything but the fact that she was alone in the room. It was too quiet and too calm, and she fought the urge to get up and start pacing about. 

And then, in a flurry of blue, Jester was there, squealing about how much better Beau looked and offering her pastries, while Fjord awkwardly stood behind her, muttering, "Give her some space, Jes." Nott brought Frumpkin over and placed the disgruntled cat on Beau's chest. Awkwardly, Frumpkin settled down and soon was rumbling away a purr that Beau felt deep in her chest. Caduceus was holding a mug of someone's grandfather and brought it over to her as Caleb perched, somewhat awkwardly, on the bed beside her. Without a word, he put a hand on her shoulder as Jester started recounting everything that had happened in the last five days. 

That morning, Beau did not awake to an empty room. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading, please feel free to leave any feedback (whether generally positive or constructive criticism) and let me know what you think! Also I haven't watched this week's episode so please no spoilers ;-; 
> 
> Anyways, as always, I hope you all have the loveliest of days, reach out a hand to support LGBTQ people and be kind to one another :-)


	12. Chapter Twelve

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I’m on holiday with a couple of my friends at the moment, so updated will be few and far between (I don’t like writing on my phone). I haven’t had the chance to edit this so sorry for any typos. Anywho, as always I hope y’all enjoy the chapter and have the loveliest of days :-) <3

**One Week Later**

"So... what do you think?" 

Fjord half-turned in his seat as Jester came down the stairs, wearing a deep green dress with plenty of ruffles. She'd spent ages on her make-up and insisted that Nott help her with her hair. She seemed to almost glow amidst the dark layers of the low-cut dress, and Fjord's brain wasn't really working properly as he took in the sight. 

"I, uh, um..." he stuttered out, his ears starting to warm up. 

"You look beautiful, Jes." Beau said, smiling a little when the tiefling giggled. The rest of them had been ready a while and were mostly just waiting on Jester to arrive. 

Beau herself was wearing a dress, which was a momentous occasion as it was. It was styled vaguely off her monk garb, being Cobalt blue with traces of other shades weaved throughout it. She'd insisted on having a sleeveless dress, but constantly complained about the heels she was wearing. She would look stunning, if it weren't for the clear discomfort at wearing the dress. She looked like she were ready to fall out of it and disappear. 

Caleb sat on her right, looking through his spellbook and humming under his breath a little. He was wearing a Tuxedo that felt a little too constrictive, and kept playing with the cuffs. His tailcoat and bow tie were a blue to match Beau's dress, and a bluebell adorned his lapel. Despite his insistence that he was comfortable with the plan, as the hours ticked closer, he started panicking more and more. Twice, Nott had to calm him down in the moments just before a panic attack struck. He kept his head in his book as the others went over the plan  _again_.

Fjord, similarly, was also wearing a tuxedo. However, his also had a nice green waistcoat and an expensive, teal cravat that made him stand out. He'd cleaned up, shaved, fixed his hair - fixed his hair  _again_ and spent the last twenty minutes or so going over the plan in his head. Now as he watched Jester approach, his jaw dropped a little and he found no words able to come out of his mouth. 

Nott and Caduceus sat at the other end of the table in their usual attire; since they were going to be the lookouts, they didn't need to dress up (though Jester  _did_ insist on doing Nott's hair for her). Yasha wore a plain grey tunic and leather pants, her sword over her back. She sat on Beau's other side, occasionally giving her small encouragements and putting a hand on her shoulder. 

Beau felt some comfort that at least the others would be with her, and at least she would still be able to fight and defend herself. Sure, the dress was restrictive, but she still had her fists. Fjord looked uncomfortable out of his usual armour, and Jester didn't look quite right without her hand-axe at her side. Caleb insisted that he would be able to smuggle his spellbook in without issue, and had even said he wouldn't go if he didn't have it. So, they'd asked the tailor to sew a book-sized pocket into his jacket. They got some funny looks, but no questions were asked. 

Caduceus, Nott and Yasha left first. Caduceus and Nott had to find a good place to set up as lookouts, and Yasha had to get into position inside the Gala itself. Half an hour of worried silence passed around the table, and then Jester and Fjord were leaving, assuring the two humans that things would work out fine. 

Beau wanted to just get up and go but forced herself to wait the agreed upon ten minutes. As they waited, she impatiently tapped the table. 

"How're you feeling?" she asked finally, turning to Caleb. 

"Like I might throw up." 

"Yeah, me too." she cracked a small smile. "Just two outlaws of the Empire showing up on their front door. No biggie." 

"Hm. You are not making me feel any better." 

"We'll be fine." 

"Do you really believe that?" 

Beau considered it for a moment, finally giving a non-committal shrug. "I don't know if I believe it. I know that I hope we'll be fine." 

Silence descended once again, and then Caleb closed his book and tucked it away inside his jacket. "Ten minutes is up. We should get moving." 

*** 

"So, you are?" the man said blankly, staring at Yasha. 

"I'm a hired hand." Yasha replied, trying to put some authenticity into the lie. "Yhelmen hired me. You can ask him if you want." 

"Yhelmen didn't tell me he was hiring outside help." the guard replied, glancing around. "Have you got credentials with you?" 

Yasha went to reach into one of her pockets but instead lurched forward, wrapping an arm around the guard's throat and strangling him until he fell limp in her arms. He tried to break free, but Yasha was much stronger than him.

She glanced around, making sure that nobody had seen that, before dragging the body into a nearby bush. She relieved the man of his chain shirt, shield and spear, taking a couple of minutes to get herself together to look more official. She also grabbed his red jacket, ignoring the fact that it was a size or two too small, and put it on. She glanced around once more to make sure that nobody had noticed, before taking up his position at the back door. 

*** 

"That's bad." Nott said nervously as Yasha straightened out by the door, not paying much mind to the body beside her. 

"There are a lot of perimeter sweeps." Caduceus agreed, eyeing one of them. "They're going to find that body sooner or later." 

"We need to do something!" Nott screech-whispered. "This is  _exactly_ what we're here for. Can you like, make the body go away with your weird dead people magic?" 

"Um... I don't think so?" Caduceus said. "We could just go and grab the body." 

"Oh, I've got an idea! Stay here!" 

Nott headed down the tree that the two of them were currently sitting in, skittering into the streets and disappearing into the shadows. Caduceus just watched for a moment, and then raised an eyebrow as the body slowly began to move. Some kind of invisible force seemed to be pulling it back towards their tree. Half a minute later, Nott returned, the body dragging along behind her, and Caduceus realised it must be her  _Mage Hand_ dragging it along. 

As she got to the bottom of the tree, she hissed up, "Caduceus! Help me!" 

"I'm not sure there's much I  _can_ do to help, Miss Nott." Caduceus nevertheless came down from the tree and helped Nott to haul the body up into the tree, where they reasoned would be the best place to hide it for now. As they both settled back in, Caduceus started a  _Decompose_ on the body. 

"Fuck!" Nott muttered. "That smells!" 

***

Jester wasn't nervous. She didn't  _get_ nervous, you know? It was just that sometimes maybe, this was  _very_ dangerous and it's not like she really minded because she didn't, it was for Beau. So she wasn't nervous because this plan was perfect and her forgery was really great.

"Stop swishing." Fjord said quietly to her as they approached the main entrance. "Just act natural. Remember, I'll do the talking." 

Jester consciously forced her tail to become still as they reached the guards. 

"Good evening," Fjord said politely, pulling out some forged papers from inside his jacket. 

"Good evening." one of the guards replied somewhat half-heartedly. There were four of them, all looking annoyed to be put on door duty. One of them was inspecting Fjord and Jester with obvious distaste, clearly bemused to see a tiefling and half-orc at such an event.

"It's a fine night for such a gala." Fjord added conversationally, trying to keep them from looking too much into the documents. 

"It is indeed." the Elven gentleman handed back the papers, apparently satisfied, and waved the two of them through. 

They entered through the hallway and saw another group of guards - about a half dozen, far more heavily armoured - standing around a stone gate that was inscribed with ruins. Bingo. 

The two of them made their way up to it with fake smiles. The guards gestured them through - not saying a word - and patted them both down thoroughly. Fjord felt a chill and a cold sweat rested on the back of his neck as he walked through the gate; similarly, Jester felt a sudden loneliness as she stepped through that seemed so very empty. However, as they reached the other side, the feeling subsided. The guards waved them onwards and they headed into the main foyer. 

The place was alive with orchestra music and expensive people in expensive clothes. Everyone moved almost robotically, and the laughter on the air sounded false and forced. Fjord took Jester's hand and led her to a quiet corner of the room, grabbing a drink for each of them off a passing server. "Pretend to drink it." he said out of the corner of his mouth as he took a sip of his own. Jester pressed the glass to her lips and made a hum of acknowledgement, but didn't drink any of it. 

"It worked." Jester said quietly, almost disbelievingly. 

"Yeah, let's hope Yasha got in ok." Fjord said. "We just gotta wait for that signal now." 

***

Caleb and Beau were waiting anxiously across the road. There had been no indication of any signal yet, and Caleb was steadily keeping count of the time so that they could keep the mission on-track.

"You know, if a different life, we could've ended up being married for real." Beau said conversationally, almost throwing off Caleb's counting. He turned to her after a moment, then turned away. "What? It's true. If you'd stayed at the Assembly... well, my dad was looking for suitors for me." 

"No offence, but I am glad it did not turn out that way." 

"None taken. Me either." 

"Will you marry Yasha one day?" 

The question caught Beau off-guard and she felt a lump rise to her throat and a queasiness instantly fill her stomach. She forced down that instinctual feeling of  _what the fuck, Caleb?_ because she'd eaten a lot today (by her standards, at least) and she really wanted to keep it down. "I dunno." she managed to sound somewhat nonchalant but didn't know if Caleb believed her. She didn't really care if he did or not. 

Five more minutes passed in silence before Caleb finally stood, looking nervous. "The time is up." 

"There's not been a signal yet." Beau answered. 

"Yes, but if we do not go now then they will close the front gates. They were very specific that guests should arrive at one particular time." 

"But if we go in and they haven't done their shit yet, we'll literally be skewered on sight." she seemed to think for a moment. "Or, actually, they'd probably take us both and torture us extensively." 

" _Ja_ , I am aware, Beauregard. Now or never." 

"You're right." Beau got up from where she'd been sitting on a boulder, wiping off her dress for any loose dirt. She turned to Caleb. "Go for it, man." 

Caleb pulled out a caterpillar cocoon from one of his pockets, pulling on it and muttering a familiar incantation. He closed his eyes as the spell took effect, focusing on what Beauregard would look like - a female dwarven woman, around five foot, with tidy brown hair and a well-made face. The woman was older than Beau, perhaps in her mid to late thirties, with crows' nests beginning to form around her eyes. He made sure that she could retain her natural dexterity in her new form, though hopefully she wouldn't need it. When he opened his eyes, he was a little disgruntled by how the woman before him was wearing Beauregard's facial expression, but not on her face. 

"Well?" she said. "I look like fuckin' royalty?" 

"Maybe, eh, just try the voices," Caleb suggested. "Like Fjord suggested,  _ja_?" 

Beau made her voice go a little higher and enunciated her words more. "Do I look like fucking royalty, dear husband?" 

Caleb just rolled his eyes before casting  _Disguise Self_ , making himself look like a Elven man, roughly two inches taller than he really was, with long blonde hair and a furrowed brow. In the disguise, he was more filled out (though not too much - it  _was_ just an illusion, after all) and a little stockier. Beau pulled a slight face, as though she wanted nothing less than to spend the evening with the man in front of her. 

"Gods, you got obnoxious down to a T." she said, looking slightly awe-struck. "You been practising?" 

" _Ja_ ," Caleb said, inspecting his new form a little. "I have. We need to get going. We have only one hour before both of our disguises wear off." 

Beau glanced back towards the huge building dominating the space. "Still no signal." 

"I know. We will just have to wing it." 

As the two of them approached the front gate, Beau looped her arm through Caleb's, and he couldn't help but stiffen up a little at the gesture. He forced his composure to relax and put a lazy, easygoing smile on his face. As they approached, the guards seemed to be letting the last couple of people through, and looked up at the two of them. 

"You are late," the woman at the front said with a slight frown. 

"Yes," Caleb said, straightening his voice out of its Zemnian kink and trying to sound more like Fjord. He gestured to Beau a little. "This one spent rather a deal of time on her make-up. Though it was worth it." he said, turning to her with a smile. Beau managed to smile back without even cringing. 

"Aweh, thank you, love."  

The guard just nodded. "Have you both got identification and your invites?" 

Caleb pulled them out of one of the pockets in his jacket, passing them over to the woman. As she was checking them over, Beau leaned into Caleb more, half trying to sell their lie, half trying to alleviate some of the pressure from her feet, which were already sore. The guard half-glanced up at the display of affection, a small smile forming on her face as she handed the papers back. 

"All's in order." she said. "You're lucky. Two minutes later and we wouldn't have been able to squeeze you in." 

Beu smiled through her teeth and Caleb half-heartedly answered the woman. As they walked through the hallway, the guards closed the doors ominously behind them, before standing guard by it. Caleb looked up at the stone pillars up ahead, the arcane sigils on them still glowing brightly. He tugged gently on Beau's arm, and she just nodded almost imperceptibly, clearly trying to hide her struggle. 

Where were the others? Jester should have deactivated the gate by now! 

The gate had a  _Dispel Magic_ spell infused into it. As soon as either he or Beau stepped through the gate, their disguises would be dropped and they would be revealed as traitors to the Empire. 

As they got closer and closer to the gate, Caleb hoped for a miracle. 

 

 

 

**All rolls included below:**

Jester's forgery to enter the ball: natural 18 (total 23 - dat's pretty gud) 

Yasha's deception to get into the ball: natural 14 (total 12)

Guard's insight check on Yasha: natural 15 (total 15)

Yasha's grapple on the guard: natural 14 (total 21)

Guard's grapple check: natural 2 (total 3)

Nott's Stealth check: natural 16 (total 29)

Guard's investigation check into the forgery: natural 15 (total 17)

Caleb's deception check: natural 15 (total 18)

Guard's insight to Caleb's lie: natural 4 (total 5) 

Guard's investigation check into the forgery #2: natural 5 (total 7)


	13. Chapter Thirteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ayo it's been a while but I'm kind of back. After that last update I had a lot - holy fuck a lot - of shit go on in my personal life so I haven't had the chance to write. Everything's died down a bit now, so I can hopefully get back to this fic :) Alsoooo um episode 69? Um what? It's ok, I didn't need those feelings anyway....
> 
> Anywho, as always I hope y'all enjoy this chapter, and all kinds of feedback are always appreciated :-) Enjoy

A diversion. That was all that Yasha was meant to be doing. Making a diversion. 

She headed through the back door, nodding to various other members of staff as they passed. She, too, had had to walk through one of the Dispel Magic Gates (it  _was_ a fancy party with lots of higher-ups from the Empire, after all), but hadn't been carrying anything magical on her person. So, as she headed through the halls (empty save for the few staff members allowed back here), she tried her best to act like she belonged here. Somehow, the pointers that Beau and Caleb had been giving her on Empire etiquette were paying off - she sneaked through without drawing any attention to herself. 

She reached the main ballroom, which was already alight with noise and people and lights. It was a little overwhelming, and Yasha had to fight her urge to shrink in on herself and disappear out the back door. She walked among the people, looking for a good enough target. She briefly locked eyes with a blue tiefling across the room, but Jester just gave her a friendly smile before turning back to dance with Fjord. 

She spotted a human woman with big hair and an expensive dress, who looked appropriately intoxicated. Maintaining her composure, she headed over, reaching her hand into her pocket, her fingers closing around a thin stiletto dagger. 

"Excuse me?" Yasha said politely as she approached the table. "Have you seen a taller Dragonborn gentleman? I think he may have passed through this way." 

The woman barely even looked up at Yasha. "No, dear, I've not seen anyone. Speaking of which, your people are slacking. Will you have someone bring me another drink? I haven't seen a server in about fifteen minutes." 

"Of course." 

The woman had already returned her attention to the others at the table, and they seemed to pretend that Yasha wasn't there. Subtly, she half crouched down - it could've been a polite bow, were they looking - dropping the dagger into the woman's bag. It didn't go quite as smoothly as she's hoped - her fingers fumbled on the handle for a moment, and for a second she was sure it'd drop audibly on the floor. However, it slipped in, and the woman turned to look at Yasha, a frown adorning her face. 

"Drink?" she snapped expectantly. 

"Yes, sorry." Yasha mumbled, backing up. "Sorry." 

She slipped away, shifting through the crowds for a moment before spotting a guard nearer the other end of the room. She approached, trying to look panicked. "Excuse me? Do you work here?" 

"Yes, ma'am?" he quirked an eyebrow at her. "Can I help you?" 

"I heard a woman mentioning to her friend that she'd managed to slip a concealed weapon in. I don't know how it happened but... she looked, you know, very dangerous. I think she may have ill intent with it." 

His face immediately paled. "Can you point her out to me?" 

Yasha did so, pointing him toward the woman she'd planted the dagger on. He nodded, told her to stay put, and rushed off towards a few other guards. Yasha noticed Fjord and Jester dancing across the room, and Fjord said something quietly to her. The two of them glanced up before beginning to subtly - well, Fjord was subtle at least - dance their way over nearer the entrance, where Jester would be within 120 feet of the Dispel Magic gate. 

Everyone was in position. 

***

Caleb was starting to sweat, and his collar felt too tight around his throat, and Beauregard's arm linked through his felt heavy like a chain. He wanted to rip off the  _Verdammt_ bow tie and crawl out of his skin and just leave this place. Beau seemed to notice this, because her arm held his a little more firmly. Maybe to remind him that she was there with him, maybe to remind him that if he bolted, she'd beat him within an inch of his life. He couldn't say for sure. 

As they got within ten feet of the gate, it was clear that it was still active. His brain was a scrambled mess as he tried to figure out a plan, but all he could think about was the panic clawing its way up his sternum. 

He was surprised when there was a sharp tug on his arm as Beau fell. He felt a surge of confusion and panic rush through him. 

Beauregard didn't fall.

And the sound when she'd fallen... like a bone breaking, a sound Caleb was far to familiar with for his own liking. 

Caleb forced himself to crouch down beside her, forced himself to stop panicking. 

"Are you ok?" he asked, trying to figure out what she could've tripped on.

"I told you not to use that shoe-maker, Tharyn!" Beau shouted in a high-pitched voice that wasn't really hers. "Look at this. The heel is snapped clean in half! I told you that his work wasn't high enough quality." 

"Um, I'm uh, sorry, love." Caleb tried to put himself back in character, fighting down the anxiety and forcing himself to follow along with Beau. The guards had stopped around them, waiting impatiently, but the runes on the gate were still active. "Let me take a look please, dear?" 

Beau begrudgingly showed him her ankle. Caleb raised a slight eyebrow - there was actually bruising already starting to flourish and a little blood where the snapped end of the heel had cut into her foot. She'd really sold the accident. Caleb half wondered how she'd managed to snap the heel like that without using her hands. She must've genuinely hurt herself in the process. 

"I think it may be sprained." he said softly, examining the ankle carefully. Beau hissed, but managed to hold back any colourful language.

"We can't miss the gala!" Beau said, trying to sound enthusiastic. Luckily, the slightly gritty edge to her voice was easy to pass off as pain. "I had this dress made especially for the event and -" 

"I don't suppose you have a Cleric?" Caleb asked them. "Someone who can look at her foot?" He stood, getting eye-level with one of the guards. 

"Of course." she said quickly, offering Beau an awkward smile - she clearly wasn't supposed to be handling guests. "Carlion -" she gestured to one of the others. "Go get someone to check over her injury." 

"Thank you." Caleb said. "I'm terribly sorry. I, eh-" he leaned in closer. "-Went with a slightly more  _affordable_ shoe maker. I shan't be doing that again." 

There was a commotion inside the main hall of the Gala, that was just beyond the gate. "Wait here a moment." the guard speaking with Caleb said, heading over towards the gate. Caleb could just about hear voices in the distance.

" _How dare you accuse me-?"_

_"Ma'am, please just let me check your bag."_

_"Are you saying that you think_ my wife  _has some smuggled a weapon -"_

_"... I don't know how that got there."_

_"Ma'am, please come with us."_

_"That's not mine! This is slander! I'm being framed! I bet it was that old codger, Crembarie."_

Caleb crouched down beside Beau as most of the guards were called into the hall. "How's your ankle?" he asked softly, eyes on the guard's turned back. 

"Fuckin' hurts." Beau muttered under her breath. "But at least we managed to stall long enough."

" _Ja_ , I think we did." Caleb said softly, glancing up in time to see the runes on the gate slowly go dark and inactive. Jester must've managed to dispel the enchantment after all. 

Precisely sixty eight seconds later, the guards all returned to their posts, and one came with a cleric, who checked out Beau's ankle. They declared that there was some bruising but no sprains or breaks - she'd be fine as long as she kept off it. Beau complained loudly to Caleb about wanting to see the party ("We've not even seen the hall yet, and we've been here nearly twenty minutes, love!"). The guards ushered them through the gate - which, unbeknownst to them was now inactive - and the two of them maintained their disguises as they went through. Caleb apologised once more to the guards for any extra inconvenience caused and assured them that he and his wife were going to enjoy the gala despite the wardrobe crisis. 

A moment later, the two of them were inside the main hall, surrounded on all sides by bustling guests and bristling guards. Caleb put an arm over Beau's shoulder, trying not to cringe at the contact and pretending not to notice her do the same. They mingled into the crowd, acting like they didn't recognise Fjord, Yasha and Jester around the hall. The two of them headed for the far right corner of the room, which was darkened. 

When Frumpkin had scouted the building, he'd seen the air vent that was about forty feet up, pressed into the ceiling. It had been a problem that took some time to overcome - the most reliable solution was that Beau would climb up, using the walls as support, bouncing from one to the other. It was a little more scary a thought now that Caleb was looking up at the vent. 

They would be mostly out of sight of the majority of the guests. The corner was only dimly lit, luckily, but it was still pretty risky. Jester glanced their way, seeing the two of them getting into position and tugged Fjord into the middle of the dancefloor. The two of them started dancing erratically and wildly, drawing the attention of the guests, at the same time as Yasha positioned herself just in front of where Beau and Caleb were, effectively blocking a lot of the guests from seeing them. 

"Are you sure you have got this?" Caleb asked quietly to Beau as she tapped her bare feet on the floor, eyeing the vent. 

"Guess we'll find out." she said with a cocky grin. She glanced around briefly to make sure nobody was looking their way before lifting her dress and starting to run up the wall. With almost impossible ease, she jumped from one wall to the other, using the momentum of each push to keep her moving upwards. Within a matter of seconds - Caleb could've blinked and missed it - she was at the top, pining her body carefully up into the top corner. Caleb looked around again to make sure nobody was looking, before returning his attention to her as she gave him a thumbs up. 

Beau looked at the bolts holding the vent in place. Frumpkin had let Caleb know that the vent was secured tightly into the ceiling. Beau had only ever seen a vent like this once before, in the wine cellar back when she lived with her parents. They weren't terribly common, but Beau had figured out a while ago that it was relatively easy to get through them, if you knew what you were doing. 

Within seconds, her thieves' tools had the bolts off. A moment of fear overtook her as one of the bolts slipped between her fingers, but she watched Caleb flinch as it hit him, making no noise. He looked up at her, scowling, but at least it hadn't hit the floor. That would be... loud. 

Beau took off the vent plate, turning it sideways and pushing it into the vent ahead of her. The vent itself was vertical for about twenty feet, which was more of a hassle than Beau had expected. She suspected, as she hauled herself up, keeping her body pressed against all sides of the vent, that very few people would be able to do this, but she managed with minimal trouble. The vent evened out soon enough, and she took a moment to catch her breath, wiping a line of sweat off her forehead. She could still hear the sounds of music and chattering coming, distantly, from the hall. 

With a steadying breath, she pushed on. 

*** 

"Anything?" Nott asked, putting a vial of acid back in her bag. 

"Nothing out of the ordinary." Caduceus said, peering at the building. "Nobody seems to have noticed that our friend here is missing." He patted the guard that Yasha had killed. 

"Well, that's something." Nott said. She peered down at the courtyard, noticing a carriage with horses approaching. "Thought all the guests were supposed to be here like half an hour ago?" 

"Hm?" Caduceus seemed to notice what she did. "Ah. They  _were_." 

A silhouette got out of the back of the carriage as it ground to a stop. A few guards immediately came from the building, but instead of seeming aggressive, they began flanking the figure. 

"Who's that?" Nott snapped. 

"I don't recognise them." Caduceus said. "Appears to be an older gentleman, long-ish grey hair. He's wearing white-gold robes, they look, ah, real nice-" 

"Wait!" Nott said a little too loudly. She peered a little more closely, but was still unable to make out the figure's features. "Here, does he look like this?" Nott used a disguise to change her appearance to one of a greying human man in his late seventies. 

"Wow, that's uncanny... that's really something." Caduceus said slowly. His eyes widened slightly as Nott started scampering down the tree. "Um, Miss Nott? What're you doing?" 

"We need to warn the others!" Nott screech-whispered as she used her claws to get down. "That's Trent Ikithon. We need to get them out of there,  _now_!" 

 

**All Rolls:**

(FIRST ROLL OF THE DAY!) Yasha's Performance check to see if she fits in: natural 20 (total 18)

Yasha's Sleight of Hand check to plant the evidence on the guest: natural 5 (total 7)

Guest's Perception check: (disadvantage - intoxication) natural 8, natural 4 (total 5)

Yasha's Deception Check: natural 20 (total 18)

Guard's Insight check: natural 9 (total 10)

Dispel Magic Gate DC: 15 (Cast at level 5) 

Jester's Dispel Magic: natural 13 (total 18)

Beau's acrobatics to climb the wall: natural 18 (total 27)

Beau's thieves' tools check to get the vent off: (disadvantage - she'll literally clinging to a ceiling) natural 13, natural 9 (total 18)

Beau's acrobatics to climb the vertical vent: natural 14 (total 21)

Caduceus' Perception Check: natural 17 (total 26)

Nott's Perception Check: natural 16 (total 16 - on brand honestly)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh no! Le Trent Le Ikithon!!   
> Look, I have no idea where I'm going with this but I think I might maybe figure it out when I get there hopefully. I hope y'all enjoyed this one, will hopefully have some more within a week or so? (I'm writing this instead of planning my own campaign - it's ok, I can totally wing it :-)) 
> 
> Anyway, I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter. Stay kind, and have a lovely day :-)

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this! Comments (especially feedback) and kudos are greatly appreciated! Have a good day, and until next time, stay nerdy! :)


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